1. Marketing Automation

Marketing automation solutions are becoming a go-to for savvy marketers. These programs can give a much-needed boost to sales productivity, as well as reduce looming manual marketing tasks. B2C marketing automation solutions are specifically designed to engage audiences with personalized communication and messaging.

2. Cross-Channel Execution

Consumers are constantly engaged with many different platforms, including social media, blogs, the internet, and brick-and-mortar stores, which can make it difficult to keep track of where is best to interact with them. With new platforms being introduced all the time, the only way to plan for the future of consumer interactions is to rely on a singular platform to execute all of these campaigns. Product recommendations, conditional content, and smart segmentation are all a part of this cross-channel strategy that will be so important in the upcoming year.

3. Reliance on Machine Learning

Big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence marketing are poised to break through in a big way during 2017. These advanced technologies will help marketers create individualized experiences and personalized messaging for highly segmented audiences. In the world of B2C marketing, these personalized messages are the secret ingredient to building loyal customers who will return again and again.

4. Highly Personalized Content

All of these new technologies also open the door for highly personalized content. B2C marketers will be responsible for delivering the right message, to the right person, at the right time. The key is for marketers to capture this data at every single point throughout the customer lifecycle, and compile it into a highly detailed consumer profile. These profiles help marketers to create great content, calculate buying cycles, and automate personalized messages. Marketing teams can then take these profiles to the next level with scoring and analytics.

5. Data-Backed Analytics

This is where everything comes together: the data, the automation, the profiles, and the execution. In 2017, marketers will rely heavily on detailed dashboards to see which campaigns are working, which need some refinements, and which should be scrapped altogether. Monitoring this performance in real time helps marketers make quick changes, as well as step back to refine processes and procedures at a higher strategic level.

Final Thoughts

For the B2C marketer, 2017 will be all about data and personalization. In order to fully leverage the information and opportunities available, marketers will also have to rely on technologies to help organize and implement these campaigns.