I’ve scoured all the best blogs and industry publications to find out what are the big things on marketers’ to-do lists this year. Here is a list of the five top priorities for marketing success in 2015.
1. Focus on Top Performing Channels
"34% of enterprise marketers expect significant increases in mobile spend in 2015.” – MarketingProfs
2015 is still young, and there is plenty of time to set your focus on the top performing channels in your marketing strategy. Last year was big for several emerging marketing channels. I don’t think there was a single blog that didn’t thoroughly discuss the importance of social media, video, and the golden child of marketing channels, mobile. While 2014 was the time to experiment with new channels, 2015 will be the year marketers hone their strategy and double down on the best performing channels and tactics. It will be exciting to watch as video, social media, and mobile marketing are pushed to new levels of greatness.
2. Design a Mobile-First Strategy
"This year, more marketers need to think about the usability of their website across the entire conversion path — from the time someone’s a visitor alllll the way until they are a customer.” – Hubspot
In case you’ve been living under a rock the last couple years, mobile is a big deal. With 70% of businesses viewing mobile as a critical enabler of product and services, marketers are going to have to be on their A-game to take advantage of the mobile opportunity. And it’s going to take a lot more than a "mobile-friendly” website. Marketers need to focus on the usability of their website in relation to the entire path to purchase from the moment a user first visits the site, all the way until they become a customer.
3. Create a Cohesive Customer Journey
"Leading marketers – the organizations pushing boundaries and driving significant business results – realize that great marketing entails helping prospects along in the customer journey.” – ClickZ
There are many channels for a customer to choose to engage with a brand. Each channel has unique advantages that bring value to the customer and brand. A major priority for businesses in 2015 will be creating a seamless customer journey that spans multiple channels and devices, both online and offline. Focus on effective content for every stage of the customer journey available on any device is key. With the right marketing automation technology and CRM system, marketers have the power to create a seamless customer journey.
4. Create the Perfect Technology Stack
"An ever-expanding mix of devices and channels is creating even greater pressures for digital teams to quantify their efforts, but the technology is here and the market demand for talented analysts and data-savvy marketers has been in place long enough that 2015 is the year digital measurement comes of age.” – Adam Singer, Analytics Advocate at Google via TopRank Blog
The current marketing technology landscape kind of looks like a Jackson Pollock piece. There are approximately 2,000 marketing technology solutions to choose from –nearly double from last year. It’s like standing in front of the frozen yogurt dispensers: so many options leave you paralyzed with indecision.
Having a clear understanding of the complete customer journey is key to finding the right marketing technologies for your business. It’s time to create a succinct marketing technology ecosystem complete with CRM, marketing automation, and analytics for online and offline engagement. You have the ability to track and measure the information that is important all in one place where you need it.
5. Choose the Right Metrics
"The world of marketing is changing right before our eyes, and the transformation is being led by data.” – Evan Greene, CMO, The Recording Academy/The Grammy Awards via Forbes
In this age of heightened accountability, marketers are expected to meticulously track and measure every campaign across every channel and device. Understanding which metrics define success for your business is key for 2015. We are beyond estimates, guessing, and gut feelings. With the right marketing technology ecosystem you can accurately track and measure engagement across the customer journey. You can also tie your marketing campaigns to actual revenue dollars, giving you the ability to justify budgets and optimize campaigns to improve the almighty ROI.
Keep these priorities in mind, and you will find yourself on the path to dominate 2015.
