Feb 15 | 4 minutes read

“Digital Marketers Need to Expand their Technological Horizons In the Future”

This article is a part of our new series Inside APSIS, where we talk to our in-house experts about their views on digital marketing.

How does an expert put digital marketing into practice? Samantha Seljak is a Project Manager at APSIS Professional Services with heaps of theoretical digital marketing knowledge and practical know-how. In this blog post, she’ll share her thoughts on how you can engage and retain your customers in an over-competitive digital marketing environment.

“It’s Exciting to Track and Inspire Customers”

Samantha Seljak has been a member of the APSIS family for just over six months. As a Project Manager at the Professional Services Department, she’s one of our digital marketing experts that help companies thrive in the world of digital marketing.

           “APSIS appealed to me because of where we are today, which is leading the digital
           marketing Software as a Service realm in Scandinavia, but also where we started:
           as a humble startup sprung out of an incubator.”

Samantha says that her path down the digital marketing route originated from a sheer fascination about consumer behaviour and the amount of time we spend online today. She continues:

“It’s exciting to track and inspire customers both online and offline and through their
entire journey.”

At APSIS, her role ranges from managing the ongoing digital marketing needs of a global company's customer loyalty programme to supporting many and varied businesses with their marketing automation strategies. The complexity of these projects requires a tight-knit collaboration between APSIS and the various stakeholders involved.

“The outcome of the work is based around lots of moving parts, so there needs to be a
designated APSIS expert to make sure that it all flows smoothly", says Samantha Seljak.

Customer Data is Key

As a digital marketing expert and an e-commerce business owner, she understands the importance of customer data in order to successfully navigate through the complex world of digital marketing.

           “The key with digital marketing is knowing your audience. So, whatever actions
           you take need to be based on the understanding of your audience and the numbers
           behind", says Samantha Seljak.

For Samantha, understanding the audience is really about analysing and acting on data. This may sound complicated, but for Samantha it’s often quite straightforward. Samantha elaborates with an example:

           “If you have a large subscriber database but your open rates are at the lower end of the
           scale, maybe your efforts are best focused on subscriber engagement rather than
           content creation for the moment. You need to be reactive and proactive. And of course
           test your strategies to work out what works for your company.”

As the competition for customer attention thickens, so does the need to stand out in an communicatively oversaturated environment. And it’s hardly a secret that the struggle is a bit of a battlefield. So, what’s the key to get through to you audience as brands scream for customer attention? Samantha Seljak answers:

           “I think the way to combat oversaturation is to really ensure that your content and
           marketing strategies are genuine. If you put yourself in your customers’ shoes: what
           value does a certain piece of content bring? If they don’t want to see the content you’re
           providing, it’s basically spam.”

Broaden Your MarTech Horizon with Ethics in Mind

As most marketers know, digital marketing is advancing in record speed. What’s new and fresh in 2018 is antiquated a few years later. However, as the processing of personal data accelerates into new heights of hyper-personalisation, there’s a risk that you’ll fall into the infamous uncanny valley.

           “New technology is enabling marketers to reach customers in a direct and personalised
           way, which is really exciting. Digital marketers really need to expand their horizons in
           terms of adopting new technology, and at the same time I think that’s where ethics
           come particularly into play", says Samantha Seljak.

She continues:

“People are feeling vulnerable to technology. It’s a fine line between hitting the exact target
at the right time and making customers feel really uncomfortable.”

The fear of over-personalising falls into play with the soon-to-be enforced General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, Samantha doesn’t fear the regulation. Rather, she believes that it will leverage positive effects for customers and brands alike.

           “The GDPR and other regulations on data take the customer’s perspective.
           Transparency and the ethical collection of data is pivotal to moving forward in the
           digital marketing space", says Samantha Seljak.

She wraps up our interview with choice words about how digital marketers can stay relevant in the future:

“I think the most important aspect for the future is to combine consumer power with new
technology. And that’s how to evolve from good to great."