A challenge for businesses, therefore, is first to identify which technologies are most important for their marketing strategy and activities. Then they need to decide which technological solutions are most appropriate for their business, based on factors such as:

Pricing (most marketing technology is sold as "software as a service" with per user pricing

Ease of use (for those employees tasked with implementing the technology)

Compatibility with other business systems

Scalability - can the technology grow with the business?

Compliance - e.g. with fast-changing regulations about data protection

Six Examples of Technology and Marketing Decision-Making

Here are just six ways in which technology is enabling more effective marketing decision-making:

ANALYTICS AND CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

A whole industry now exists to help businesses track how users & customers use their online products and services. Google Analytics is just one such technology which provides businesses of all sizes and types with insights into how customers found a website and what they did there. All major mobile apps use sophisticated user event tracking (like Mixpanel) to automate customer messaging and provide actionable insights for marketing teams.

DYNAMIC PRICING

Dynamic pricing is covered by this specific study note. The technology behind dynamic pricing enables a business to adopt a pricing strategy where prices are set flexibly for products or services based on current market demands.

AUDIENCE REACH AND SEGMENTATION

The widespread use of social media marketing is a great example of how technology is enabling businesses to more effective reach their target audience and communicate with them. Of course this is an area which is now subject to greater regulation and scrutiny - particularly relating to the security and use of personal data.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

Customer Relationship Management (or CRM for short) is a technology used to manage interactions with customers and potential customers. A CRM system helps businesses build customer relationships and streamline processes so they can increase sales, improve customer service, and increase profitability. There are thousands of different CRM systems available, with the largest including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP.

CAMPAIGN TESTING

Campaign testing is a key feature of digital marketing technology. Essentially it allows a business to set up more than one (and in some cases many thousands) of different marketing campaigns to test which is most effective. The best campaign formats (e.g. messages, images, video, placement) are then automatically rolled-out to a wider target audience, thereby reducing wasted marketing spend.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Whether it is tracking activity on a competitor YouTube channel, website or mobile app, or even competitor pricing online, there is software available to help businesses know exactly what their competitors are up to!