Predictions Series 2019

Micro-Perimeters to Deliver Where Complex, Dangerously Vulnerable and Slow VPNs Have Failed The security and protection of personal data has moved to priority number one for organizations around the world, driven in large part by established (i.e., GDPR, California’s Consumer Privacy Act, etc.) and anticipated new regulations, where the legal and financial penalties attached to non-compliance are dire. In addition, personal data has become the lifeblood of most sales and marketing organizations where traditional…

B2B marketers spend a great deal of time trying to read between the industry headlines. Scores of buzzwords come and go. A few stick around and become meaningful additions to the marketing toolset. But even when consumer brands embrace a given tool for the long haul, B2B marketers are often left wondering, “Yes, but is it really useful for me?” Let’s take a look at some of the words and phrases that took marketing by storm in 2018 and break down the implications for B2B marketers going into 2019: Voice Search In…

Which was the most impactful Marketing Tech moment of the year for you as a marketing leader? Adobe’s acquisition of Marketo is significant and it will be interesting to see how they approach the market together and also how other Marketing Technologies are consolidated over the coming year. The past few years, we’ve seen an expansion — all of the vendor marketers are tasked with managing. While we’ll continue to see growth and innovation in the technologies that marketers employ, I suspect we’ll see marketers attempt to…

Looking back at what happened in marketing in 2018, we think of countless data blunders and the shake up of traditional marketing methods. One big trend? MarTech is taking over and claiming more budget at companies than ever before. As we near the end of the year, I’m taking stock of the industry trends I’ve observed and projecting which ones are here to stay and those that are most likely to taper off as time goes on. Read More: People-Based Marketing is Missing a Critical Element: Accurate Data The Rise of Data for…

Contact centres are going through their biggest changes in decades. Instead of calling a company for support with every issue, customers can now turn to chatbots, mobile apps, social media, and a variety of other channels. Better connected than ever, delivering the outstanding service these customers expect requires the right mix of tech, talent, and investment. To help you prepare, here are eight predictions based on customer experience (CX) that will be critical to contact centre success in 2019 and beyond. Chatbots Could…

Attracting and retaining customers has always been a tricky situation, but today’s fragmented climate of digitally native brands, direct-to-consumer brands, and, well, Amazon, have made the landscape more perilous than ever for enterprise brands. Many enterprise brands have chosen to pursue a digital transformation strategy to elevate customer experience and improve competitive execution. A major tenet of this strategy is to move customers from face-to-face or human-assisted engagements to primarily mobile- and digital-led…

Augmented and virtual reality allows products to be displayed within 3D environment There are a lot of ways technology can solve a problem — whether it’s in our everyday lives or in business. But one unexpected fix that’s making waves in the enterprise is augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Piper Jaffray estimates that more than 500 million VR headsets could be sold by 2025. Many of those, then, are likely to be used in business settings as well. From neuroscience to workplace training to industrial…

In today’s technology-driven business world, innovation has reached breakneck speed — if you are not innovating, you are falling behind. For marketers, this means there is more pressure to deliver results that can be backed by data and a greater need to quickly pivot campaigns when success is unlikely. With Gartner predicting CMOs’ budgets will increase to over 12 percent of company revenue in 2019, marketing leaders are continuing to gain new responsibilities. To remain strategic, they must have an eye toward the future…