What is Marketing Technology anyway?
31 May 2007
Seeing as I get asked this question every time I whip out a business card, it probably deserves some attention here.
I won’t be able to cover it in one post, so perhaps this will be the first in a series. I’d love to know what others think about this growing area of marketing (or is it technology?).
So what is Marketing Technology?
First and foremost, it is not the process of marketing a technology product (that’s "technology marketing" in my book). I come at it from the "technology for marketing" standpoint.
I’m not convinced there’s an official definition (care to write the Wikipedia entry, anyone?) so here’s mine:
The process of identifying, defining, specifying and implementing technologies that help organisations develop new markets, grow existing ones or increase the efficiency of their marketing and communications.
How does that sit with you – make sense or not?
There are clearly other practices that overlap with this definition, including marketing operations management, marketing resource management, and enterprise marketing management. But whilst those might require an element of technological skill they are not completely dependent on it as marketing technology is.
It’s my view that the best marketers of tomorrow will be the technologists of today – that’s something I’ll cover in my next post. In the mean time, let me know if you agree.
Rob Everton
31 May 2007
6:49 pm
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Seems like a good definition, although I just refer to Marketing Technology as technology that can be applied creatively to solve marketing and communications needs. The process of finding the stuff seems like it doesn’t belong in the definition.
Douglas Karr
1 June 2007
12:16 am
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Excellent. I tell people it’s the ability to leverage technology to improve the acquisition and retention of customers.
Klynn
4 July 2007
9:09 am
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Marketing Technology: Marketing for the 21st Century
Niall Cook
4 July 2007
10:02 pm
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I like your thinking, Klynn.
Karen Banker
20 July 2007
5:18 pm
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Your statement, "the best marketers of tomorrow will be the technologists of today" is on target. However, there’s a movement within the software industry that is helping marketers harness the technology without having to be a hard-core technologist. Data visualization in the form of heat maps and tree maps is one of them. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Niall Cook
20 July 2007
5:31 pm
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I fully agree, Karen. I guess I was exaggerating to make my specific point, but I do think that marketers who see technology as an enabling force rather than a unnecessary diversion will gain a competitive advantage for their organisations.
That said, there’s a difference between using and understanding marketing-specific software, and approaching marketing from a technologists mindset.
Marketing Technologists? « HMA Time
12 June 2008
5:32 pm
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PingBack from http://hmatime.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/marketing-technologists/
vivace SPARK ★ » Blog Archive » We’re a miracle ☆
10 July 2009
11:26 pm
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[...] majoring in EECS and Management Science. I hope to someday work in the digital media industry with marketing technologies. And maybe run an entertainment agency on the [...]