corporate IT departments, marketing often plays a subordinate role and is not placed towards the top of the list of priorities. In many cases, the use of SaaS enables the implementation of a solution without having to wait for the availability of IT resources. This simply means that faster results can be achieved. From the vendor perspective, that means increased scalability and shorter sales cycles. SaaS solutions are more adaptable to mobile usage and allow vendor companies to be agile in their response to changing marketing conditions.
BQ - What do you believe are the most important factors for companies to consider when reviewing potential MRM systems? Mirko As mentioned before, a holistic approach and integrated solutions are the basis and the precondition to work with one repository of consolidated, consistent data and to stay in control. This is even more applicable if we consider the enormous challenges we face as part of the digital transformation. If, for newsletters, displays, SEM, social media and other tactics, separate tools are always used, and if the various teams work in parallel with their own data and without any connection to the other teams, it is nearly impossible to achieve any synergies; instead, both efficiency and control are lost. For this reason, planning, budgeting and success monitoring for all channels must be brought together into a single environment. Content and digital assets must be available centrally regardless of the channel being used to present them. And so on. Furthermore, the boundaries between marketing and sales will become increasingly blurred in the years to come, as will the lines between marketing platforms and CRM
systems. So it is important for the MRM system to acknowledge this transition and provide an easier path to integration.
BQ - From a marketing technology standpoint, what do you think will be the next major step forward in the industry? Mirko In the future, we’ll have to think less and less in terms of “channels”. Due to the increasing dissemination and use of social media and mobile devices, marketing content will be present in an “omnichannel” form - wherever you are and whenever you want it. On the other hand, this omnipresence means that the relevance of content is more important than ever. If you haven’t really addressed your audience’s needs, then your voice will not be heard or - even worse - the communication goal you desire will not be achieved. Therefore, it will not only be necessary to distribute content as widely as possible in all channels and to analyze what recipients do with it, but there will also be a need to perfectly customize and personalize the communicated content aligned with the different recipients.
This omnipresence means that the relevance of content is more important than ever And last but not least: In these days of increasingly commoditized services and ever-shorter product cycles, the brand is more important than ever - this means that the old issue of branding will continue to accompany us into the future, now supported by technology as well!
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