When I think back to the beginning of my career, there was much worry about Y2K and the impact it would have on our professional and personal lives. The world watched in trepidation as the year 2000 came, but thankfully the fears ended up being mostly unfounded.
Fast-forward 20 years, and technology is still causing disruption, albeit in more positive ways. Now, we’re harnessing ever more innovative technology, such as AI and machine-learning.
It is an exciting time to be a marketer. Marketing’s ability to affect the bottom line is greater than ever before, and marketers can engage with customers in ways we’ve never been able to do before.
But what are the things that marketers must think about today to ensure they, along with their companies, are performing better than ever 10 years from now?
1. Embrace immersive tech
A recent study from Futurum Research set out to uncover what customer experience (CX) will look like in 2030. Something that struck me from the research is the pace of predicted innovation and the adoption of immersive tech.
As marketers, we are continually striving to keep up with tech, whether wearables, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or devices. And the pace will just continue to grow more rapid: 80% of people expect to accept delivery of a product by drone or autonomous vehicle by 2030; 78% expect to use AR or VR apps in the next decade to see how a product will look in its final setting, whether that’s furniture for the home or equipment for the workplace.
So as marketers we will have to adapt quickly. How do you bring the store to the customer? If you’re a B2B marketer, how do I bring your software to your customers?