The term “The Online Marketing Suite” was introduced by Forrester Research in 2007 – and was updated in a report published earlier this month (http://bit.ly/i5cxA2). The suite refers to the comprehensive set of technologies that enable marketers to develop, deploy and measure digital marketing. In 2007 it included email, web analytics, behavioural targeting, multivariate testing and other types of technology. Since then we have both seen consolidation (e.g. MVT is now in every web analytics package) and we have been blessed with the explosion of social media sites, the rise of mobile and content management systems entering into the marketing arena. And that’s just a few of the many things having happened in the past four years.
When someone is doing extremely well, it’s really hard to make him change his behaviour. To teach him new things, apply new thinking or span beyond the remits of what’s current creating his success. That’s just basic psychology. By definition change hurts and most people only change when the pain associated with keeping status quo is greater than the pain associated with change. This is – in my opinion – the reason why digital marketing practitioners have not been eager to integrate the digital disciplines. Why search marketing has developed as a distinct skill set. The same with web analytics, email marketing and display advertising for that matter. Each of them has been so successful that the potential of integrating has simply not been worth the hassle. Add the financial meltdown and subsequent recession to the mix and you have the recipe for a number of self-sufficient communities that have specialised within their remits rather than reaped the benefits of an integrated approach.
But as the digital industry matures, practitioners begin to look for integration and consolidation. Which was prophetically the topic of my keynote at Internet World (www.internetworld.co.uk) in London last year. This shift has happened and integrated marketing is the new black. Everyone is talking about and some are actually doing it as well. It was the overarching topic of Forrester’s Marketing & Strategy Forum (http://bit.ly/eff5Kp) and Econsultancy launched JUMP (http://bit.ly/elPNKO) as their biggest event ever. The most prestigious award at Cannes Lions is arguably the integrated one. Sapient famously did the global ‘Happiness’ campaign for Unilever. And so on. And that’s the reason it makes sense to talk about a Suite again. Because that’s how marketers are beginning to view the previously fragmented digital efforts and technologies.
At Agillic our entire proposition revolves around joint-up marketing. And two years of consecutive +100% growth (soon to be three) bears witness of money being put towards this as well. I think the million-dollar-question is HOW to achieve it.
In 2007 as well as in 2011 Forrester talks about a Central Hub that will tie together the various technologies in the Online Marketing Suite. In the just-released paper, they go so far as to say that it’s the Central Hub that will be the game-changer. I know that people in the industry throw that term around a lot, but the people at Forrester don’t. So it really is a pretty bold statement. And puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of those companies aspiring to be a Central Hub.
I believe that three core principles will be crucial in taking the position as the Central Hub:
1) Multichannel
2) Real-time
3) Micro segmentation
Multichannel: to orchestrate a suite of tools, the Central Hub must be channel-agnostic. It must be built from the ground up to handle a multitude of different channels and data sources. Partners and customers of Agillic have used our Central Hub to develop campaigns that span ‘traditional’ digital channels like email, sms and websites as well as more experimental ones like Facebook, foursquare, CRM-based display advertising (retargeting and dynamic banners), mobile ticketing and many more. There is a huge difference between adding a bit of sms in the UI of an Email Service Provider platform and having a Central Hub that caters to a plethora of digital channels.
Real-time: the nature of digital marketing requires that data is transferred in real-time. Consumers expect that interaction with a brand in one channel is immediately reflected across all other channels. That the brand website knows when the consumer has clicked on an interesting offer in an email. That the landing page when clicking a PPC ad from Google reflects the context of the ad as well as the history of the individual clicking the ad. That the website remembers what someone was interested in when they last visited. One USP that is emphasised time and again by Agillic clients is the seamless real-time experience that Agillic offers.
Micro segmentation: marketing has moved beyond general segments like ‘b2b leads’ or ‘repeat visitors’. Segments of one might still be an aspiration to most, but that’s exactly the granularity required. Whether it’s the email, the Facebook app (or fanpage), the brand website or the location-based offers being pushed – they must be relevant to ME. They must take into account what I have done, what I like and what I might find interesting. So the Central Hub must consolidate data on an individual level, not an aggregate one. Agillic clients leverage that ability to deliver highly personalised web experiences through individual transactional and behavioural data across channels and do so with great success.
Forrester names a number of companies contending for the Central Hub position. They divide these companies into four categories: web analytics, web content management, email service providers and marketing automation. Web analytics, CMS and ESP’s are forced to find new revenue streams as their legacy markets are deeply commoditised by now, either from freeware (e.g. Google Analytics), open source (e.g. WordPress, Composite) or extremely cheap web services (e.g. Mailchimp). So those vendors are forced to look beyond their current capabilities to continue to grow and profit. I find that Marketing Automation is the category best suited to credibly assume the Central Hub position. Because the nature of marketing automation is to act on data and to deliver relevant messages to individuals. And some actually deliver on the three core principles listed above.
Agillic is one of only three Marketing Automation companies globally named by Forrester as a contender for Central Hub. We’re proud of that and think it’s well-justified. We’ve delivered outstanding value to clients in the past three years delivering on the promise of connecting the Online Marketing Suite.
It will be exciting to see this movement accelerate.
Where do you see things going? How close are you / your clients to The Online Marketing Suite? What other core principles do you see for the Central Hub? This is probably the most interesting debate in the marketing technology space in years and I welcome you to join it. Here or somewhere else.
