In the past two years, businesses have accelerated digital transformation and marketing technology efforts to keep up with the competition amidst the COVID pandemic. With the rapid adoption of advanced technology, many companies have found innovative ways to operate, make more profits, and help improve more people’s lives. They’ve embraced marketing technology to reach more people and attain these goals.

What is Marketing Technology?

Marketing technology, or MarTech, utilizes software programs and applications that help companies attain their marketing goals or objectives. Marketing teams use a marketing technology stack or a group of marketing technologies to develop and implement marketing strategies. The most common Martech examples include lead generation, demand generation, display ads, social media marketing, and virtual events.

But what are the latest trends in marketing technology in 2023 and beyond? How do business leaders use MarTech to attain their goals? What challenges do they face, and how do they plan to overcome them?

Learn more about this year’s latest marketing technology trends from top industry leaders below.

Implementing Interactive Lead Generation Approaches

Lead generation refers to attracting prospects or potential customers to increase future sales by nurturing them across all sales funnel stages. Generating leads has always involved cookies in capturing user data. First-party cookies in websites collect analytics data automatically but pose user privacy policy concerns. As a result, many companies have shifted to zero-party data collection, wherein users voluntarily provide their information.

Brian Campbell, the Founder and Lead Water Geek of Water Filter Guru, shared how his company generates more leads through zero-party data collection. He explained, “It was hard to think of a better way to obtain user information by eradicating cookies. But we have thought of developing a more interactive lead generation approach to comply with zero-party data and obtain more personalized and targeted information about our customers’ needs regarding water treatment. Our interactive quiz is quickly accessible once an online visitor lands on our homepage. We generate lead data through email capture, asking online users to provide their email addresses so they can receive personalized and useful information based on their answers.”

Image Source: Water Filter Guru

Image Source: Water Filter Guru

Harnessing Social Media Marketing Power

Fred Kuffer, the Director of Insurance at BrokerLink, shared how his company harnesses the power of social media marketing. He said, “The challenge of promoting insurance is the stigma that comes with it. Many people think insurance companies are just after the profits they make. For this reason, we had to find a way to reach and educate people better. That’s when social media has become a critical part of our marketing campaigns.”

“We use social media to disseminate information and engage with our customers. We also use social media to make company announcements, such as the tradeshows we join, to help more people get exclusive group insurance discounts. Furthermore, social media networks are our go-to platforms for hiring new employees, sharing our stand on current events, and educating the public about our products and services,” he added.

Image Source: BrokerLink’s Facebook Page

Boosting Demand Generation With Valuable Resources

Demand generation refers to all marketing efforts that drive people’s awareness and interest in a product or service. Examples include creating interactive content, social media marketing, guest posting, influencer marketing, email marketing, and giving freebies, such as downloadable electronic books (eBooks). With demand generation, businesses have clearer sales and marketing direction and increase customer retention and engagement rates.

Preston Powell, Webserv CEO, explained how his company boosts demand generation with valuable digital resources. He shared, “My company has a wealth of digital content that our marketing team utilizes to generate more demand for our services. As a data-driven digital marketing agency, we know the drill. So, instead of stating promises, we show our prospects and customers what we do and have accomplished through our success stories, case studies, and other valuable digital resources. This demand generation strategy is one of the most effective solutions to stay on top of the business game.”

Image Source: Webserv

Creating A One-Stop Platform 

Many businesses have evolving company websites extending beyond portfolio and marketing purposes. Business websites have become a one-stop platform for people to find everything they need for a specific niche, industry, or solution. Generally, it’s creating an online marketplace for literally any type of business.

Jonathan Merry, Co-founder & CEO of Crypto Monday, created a one-stop crypto platform for traders and investors. He said, “The biggest challenge in promoting cryptocurrency is convincing people to trust you. I thought of creating a one-stop platform. We help aspiring crypto investors start their crypto journey with helpful online resources like trading guides, reviews, and the latest news on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies and crypto exchanges. Our website allows users to compare different crypto providers and connect them to the most reputable trading platforms, making us a one-stop platform for crypto enthusiasts. By empowering people’s crypto knowledge, we can position ourselves as an industry leader and gain people’s trust.”

Enhancing SEO And Content Marketing Synergy

The direct relationship between search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing creates a synergistic effect. Companies gain more benefits by implementing well-planned SEO and content marketing strategies.

According to Milo Cruz, the CMO of FreelanceWritingJobs, “SEO and content marketing are inseparable. Everyone aims to rank high in Google, but their SEO-content tactics don’t jive. This was a problem in our company when we were starting, and the solution was to train our writers to become SEO experts. We’re very happy to reap greater rewards since we successfully implemented this plan, driving our traffic and broadening our customer base.”

Image Source: Freelance Writing Jobs

Conclusion

The above industry leaders have truly embraced MarTech to attain their marketing goals. Combining various digital marketing strategies and technology drives brand awareness, higher lead generation, conversion rates, and revenues. Businesses can adopt marketing technology to stand out from the competition and attain long-term success as they accelerate their digital transformation efforts this 2023 and beyond.