Published 1/3/2020
2019 was a year of abundant growth and innovation in the MarTech industry, and we are confident that 2020 will continue on this trajectory. We got the opportunity to sit down with Cuebiq’s EVP of Growth, Valentina Marastoni-Bieser, to hear her take on the new year’s upcoming trends. Having been in the industry for over 15 years, she has had a front seat watching the space evolve. Read on to find out Valentina’s predictions for the most significant topics and trends in the MarTech industry for 2020.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Her first prediction centers around a highly buzzed-about term: artificial intelligence. While you are probably familiar with popular applications of AI such as Alexa, you might not know that AI has numerous applications for the MarTech industry as well. From chatbots that allow brands to offer 24/7 customer support to hyper-targeted advertising, AI has the power to make marketers’ lives easier.
“What we’re seeing is that companies are really using it to bring to life powerful use cases. So, we are going beyond the buzz and finding real applications for marketers, and an example is predictive and prescriptive analytics,” said Valentina.
2. Incrementality
Incrementality, which is made possible by AI, is a metric that gives brands a deeper understanding of campaign performance. As a refresher, uplift measures the impact of ad exposure in driving in-store visits. However, it doesn’t tell the complete consumer story — and that’s where incrementality comes in. Incrementality shows whether a campaign actually changed consumer behavior, by illustrating whether it drove incremental store visits from new customers.
Valentina predicts we will see a large shift from focusing solely on uplift to also focusing on incrementality at the consumer level, which Cuebiq now offers in its state-of-the-art enhanced platform. Moreover, she predicts it’s going to be the hottest topic for 2020 since it solves a problem many marketers face in the B2CB world: understanding the true impact of their campaigns.
3. Personalization
Personalization is, as Valentina puts it, “the holy grail of marketing.” The key to gaining a consumer’s loyalty is through personalized messaging. While this isn’t a new concept, what will make it a trending topic in 2020 is how brands will go about such personalization. Like incrementality, personalization is made possible by AI. “If you understand incrementality on consumer level, then you can segment and personalize your message to the consumer based on what you learned.”
4. Conversational Sales & Marketing
A term coined by Drift, conversational marketing allows consumers to easily engage with a brand by having access to real-time conversations through targeted messaging and chatbots. While this customer centricity is already apparent in the B2C world, brands have traditionally driven the conversation in the B2B world.
As predicted by Valentina, 2020 will be the year of conversational marketing, and it will change the B2B landscape to be more consumer-centric. As marketers continue to work with tighter budgets, prove campaign ROI, and shorten the buying cycle, it is imperative to adjust tactics to be more customer-focused. “Direct-to-consumer brands have been succeeding because they have done this the best. So B2B has to come around because we’re marketers but we’re also consumers. We want the same type of buying experience.”
5. Connected TVs, OTT, and Data Privacy
In addition to the four topics discussed above, Valentina is quick to point out that some of the biggest trends and hot topics of 2019, like data privacy and connected TVs and OTT, are not going anywhere anytime soon.
With CCPA now in effect, data privacy will become an even bigger topic of discussion and regulation. Privacy will be a key differentiator for companies, such as Cuebiq, which remains at the forefront of global industry standards when it comes to data privacy.
Additionally, connected TVs and OTT will continue to be a prominent topic. With ongoing advancements in the space, like interactive ads on TV and mobile, there will be even more need for measurement and personalization.
It’s never too late for marketers to prepare for what’s to come. Valentina’s advice is to focus on putting the customer first. “Look at everything through the lens of ‘what does my customer need’ or ‘how is my customer buying’ or ‘what are their challenges,’ and make sure your strategies and tactics are tailored toward this.”
Want to know if Valentina’s predictions for 2020 will prove to be true? Stay up-to-date with the industry’s latest trends, topics, and news by following Cuebiq’s blog.
