When I tell people I work in marketing technology, I often get a blank stare. They’re not sure what to make of that (or maybe it’s me?). And I’ll be honest, I often have a hard time articulating exactly what it means to lead a team of marketing technologists. I talk about the blend of marketing and IT and the journey marketers are on to move to more online channels, because that’s where their prospects and customers are. Or maybe it’s all about measuring ROI, or optimisation, or an app, or creating an amazing customer experience…
In a effort to succinctly define this term that is oh so dear to my heart, I’ve created my own definition.
What is Marketing Technology?
Marketing Technology is any technology that enables marketers be more efficient or effective in reaching their audiences (with a great user experience to boot).
Yes, this definition is broad and seemingly all-encompassing. But so is the scope of the Marketing Technology Landscape. Any blog post written about Marketing Technology isn’t complete without a nod to Scott Brinker, the leading authority on marketing technology. So much so that he organised a entire conference dedicated to the topic. I was fortunate enough to attend the most recent one in San Francisco this past April. But more on that in my next post.
At McCorkell, I see marketing technology as the connecting tissue of our integrated agency. While each of our divisions are dedicated to a specific discipline, we focus on a unique set of marketing technologies. Our events divisions may be most engaged with event registration technologies, booth scanners, and beacons; while our Contact Centre works with software to measure and optimise inbound and outbound calling. My team often spends our days pushing the boundaries of marketing automation and customer relationship management platforms.
I vote that at some level, each of us is a marketing technologist. I’m looking forward to writing more about this topic and sharing my views on the state of marketing technology here in Australia and throughout APAC.