Mar 01 | 2 minutes read

5 Marketing Automation Trends to Keep Your Eyes On

What are the biggest trends in marketing automation for 2018? And what do you need to stay ahead in the ever-changing and highly-competitive digital landscape? Our expert Wilhelm Sahlberg guides you through the top 5 trends in marketing automation that are transforming from buzzwords into must-haves.

Trend#1: AI Intelligently Guides Your Strategy

Even though the mention of artificial intelligence (AI) might bring Terminator-esque sci-fi movies to mind, artificial intelligence is starting to move down the mainstream-road. But how can the complex nature of AI be applied to marketing automation?

Trend #2: Predictive Analytics Bumps Your Relevance

Predictive analytics has a few genes in common with artificial intelligence. Just like it's technological cousin, it adds a layer of logic that you can apply to your marketing automation strategy. In essence: predictive analytics helps you to foresee how your customers (or a specific customer) are likely to act and react in the future so you can meet and exceed their expectations.

Trend #3: Integrations Connects the Dots

As the influx and need of new technologies is strong, you need something to tie together the loose ends into an integrated whole. So, how can you make your systems talk? The answer lies in: integrations.

Trend#4: Content is Still King

Most marketers are aware of the critical need for engaging content in order to get the wheels of the marketing automation machine spinning. But how can you hedge the bets of grabbing and maintaining your customer's attention?

Trend #5: Omnichannel Creates a Unified Customer Experience

The fifth and final trend is omnichannel, which started to gain quite a bit of traction last year. For 2018, the former buzzword is becoming standard practice. Why? Because more and more marketers have realised it's potential to boost the customer experience – and profits. Afterall, we need to cater to our channel-agnostic customers...

Perhaps you've already started to implement one or two out of Wilhelms trends, or maybe you're just taking the first few steps on your journey towards automation. Regardless of your current status, there are ways for you to continually improve your strategy.

The trick? Keep a keen finger on the pulse and successively add layers that advance your system. That way, you’ll create a great digital marketing machine that both acquires and retains customers.

Want to get into the nitty-gritty before you advance? Download our handbook on marketing automation!