Earlier today I had a chance to talk at the Geek Out on Marketing Technology event and one of the topics was MarTech trends. With 4,000+ marketing technology companies, there are a number of excellent trends in the market.
Here are three trends discussed:
- Machine Learning – Take large amounts of data and find patterns and actionable insights that just weren’t possible before. Machine learning is the ability for computers to learn without being explicitly programmed. Think of all the applications in marketing from improving campaigns to targeting the best-fit accounts.
- Account-Based Marketing – Target named accounts with the right message at the right time. With account-based marketing, marketers are able to proactively engage with accounts that haven’t come through the traditional channels.
- Customer Data Platforms – Marketing is more than campaigns to attract prospects. Marketers are now expected to help guide the entire customer experience from first touch to signing as a customer to renewing at a future date. Customer data platforms pull in data from all the customer facing functions — sales, marketing, support, customer success, etc. — and provide a holistic view of the account as well as next actions to take.
It’s a great time to be in marketing technology and look for these three trends to grow in importance over the coming years.
What else? What are some more trends in marketing technology?
David Cummings on Startups 
David, thanks for doing the fireside chat with me at yesterday’s event. Your insights were great. And, all were excited to hear you say Atlanta is a leading, global MarTech hub. Let’s keep it up.
You missed the most important trend of all – the move to marketing through proxies (advocates etc) instead of directly. It’s a lot more real than the machine learning stuff which is still mostly smoke and mirrors (but i expect it to be massive down the road). At Marketo’s recent summit advocacy was the star of the show. In 10 years I expect the whole concept of a marketing automation platform to be radically transformed.