Marketing is expected to become increasingly automated by 2022, with various industries seeing different levels of automation adoption. The marketing automation platform market is projected to be worth $11.5 billion by 2027, up from an estimated $3.6 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% during the forecast period.
The following are just a few of the most important trends you should keep your eye on if you’re involved in any type of marketing or advertising.
1. Digital assistants and chatbots becoming more integral to marketing strategy
It is predicted that AI marketing with the use of digital assistants and chatbots will become more and more critical for businesses in their marketing efforts due to their increasing prevalence among consumers. The chatbot trend is already well underway, with most marketers using some type of bot interaction in their marketing strategy. It is expected that this will continue to grow exponentially over the next few years until it becomes a core part of business strategies.
Chatbots are also predicted to become increasingly good at understanding human input, making them more useful for marketers.
2. More businesses adopting multiple automation tool solutions
More and more companies are expected to begin using various automation tools at the same time. This is likely partly due to companies seeing the benefits of marketing automation and wanting to take advantage of the more advanced functionality provided by different platforms.
Studies have shown that companies with more than one automation tool can increase their return on investment by 600–800%. This makes sense when you consider just how many tools are available in the market today, each of which is suited for different objectives.
3. Marketing teams becoming highly collaborative
As businesses focus on increasing their competitive edge, marketing teams will become increasingly integrated with other logistics, customer support, and product design departments.
Marketing automation aims to help businesses increase their ROI and become more efficient. Companies will need to develop stronger cross-departmental strategies that unify their advertising activity across different channels such as social media and email to achieve this goal.
4. More sophisticated marketing automation features and capabilities
One of the main reasons we’re seeing more and more companies adopting marketing automation is advancements in technology. In this regard, automation capabilities are constantly being improved upon, which means that marketers will increasingly have access to better tools to create campaigns. For example, data-driven email marketing is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses to adapt their strategies.
5. AI and machine learning making a big impact in the industry
We’re seeing more companies use AI and machine learning tools to make their campaigns smarter, anticipate customer needs, and increase internal efficiencies within the business.
The point of marketing automation is to allow businesses to sell more and increase their ROI. The most important thing for marketers in the coming years will be to keep up with these changes and ensure that they’re always moving forward in a positive direction.
6. More reliance on customer data and analytics for marketing decisions
As businesses become more reliant on customer data and analytics for marketing decisions, the role of intelligence solutions will become increasingly important. It can be difficult to make sense of it all and determine what is relevant to your business with so much data available. This is where intelligence solutions come in, as they can help you make sense of all the data and find trends you may not have otherwise been aware of.
The use of digital intelligence is becoming increasingly important as more and more companies move towards using multiple automation tools. By using digital intelligence in combination with marketing automation, businesses can achieve a higher level of understanding of their customers and how they interact with their products or services.
7. Smaller businesses increasing their productivity through marketing automation
The marketing automation industry is becoming increasingly populated with smaller firms, which will likely see an increase in market share as the larger players become saturated, and newcomers emerge onto the scene. Many of these new firms are focusing on the needs of smaller businesses, giving them better access to more advanced technologies.
8. Rise in the number of companies offering higher-tier plans
As marketing automation becomes more popular, we’re likely to see an increase in the number of businesses catering to business owners who have a larger budget or wish to have access to better features. This may encourage some companies that are currently offering cheaper plans to increase their price or move into the higher tiers.
9. Increasing demand for marketing professionals who understand automation
As the role of marketing continues to move in a more cross-departmental direction, we’ll see an increasing number of companies looking for marketers who have a good understanding of marketing automation and how it can be used for their business.
As marketing automation becomes more popular, we will see a greater need for marketers who can use these tools effectively to achieve their business goals. Since the role of marketing is shifting from a more focused position to one where they have to work with almost every department, it will become increasingly important for them to understand the basics of automation and how it works.
10. Focus on customer experience
With more businesses turning to marketing automation, we’re likely to see a greater emphasis on making customers happy and ensuring that they have a positive experience throughout their entire journey with a business. A lot of this will be driven by the insights provided through customer data, which will inform companies of areas they can improve.
As businesses become more aware of how customers interact with their products or services, the focus will be placed on making sure that these interactions are as smooth and efficient as possible. This emphasis on customer experience is likely to push companies toward marketing automation, providing valuable insights into what customers want and allowing businesses to improve their product positioning.
A focus on business growth will continue to drive demand for new marketing strategies, expecting that these strategies will produce measurable results. As businesses become more reliant upon marketing automation, we’re likely to see an increasing number of firms focusing on value-added services that can be used to improve customer experience.
What this means for marketing
Marketing automation is an integral part of the future, and as such, you must make sure your business has a strategy in place to help you take advantage of its benefits. You should first do some research to determine which tools are right for your business and if any changes need to be made to your strategy.
You should also consider getting in touch with professionals who have experience with marketing automation so that you can get their advice on how to improve your campaign.
Opinion pieces about marketing automation often focus on the negative aspects of the technology, but its benefits far outweigh its possible limitations. Businesses use marketing automation across many different industries, ranging from e-commerce to healthcare. It has become incredibly popular due to its ability to improve ROI, reduce time spent on tasks, and increase the number of qualified leads.
The changes expected in 2022 will further improve its capabilities, making it an essential part of any company’s marketing strategy.
