In competitive running, for weekend warriors and pros alike, the carbon plate “super shoe” is all the rage. Lighter, more dynamic, and more responsive, carbon-plated shoes regularly shave upward of 5 percent off race times.
Imagine a 5 percent performance improvement from making one change, with everything else being equal. You don’t have to work harder. Keeping the same approach, you’re instantly faster, more efficient, and more effective. It’s hard to justify not making that change, especially when an end-of-life replacement is a certainty regardless.
Sometimes we don’t even realize our equipment might be limiting. When you’ve worked with a software solution for a long time, you get used to what they offer – and it might not occur to you that there’s something else on the market that might give you better performance and bears consideration. It’s one of those “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” situations. For marketers frustrated with legacy marketing campaign tools that are holding them back, there is a super shoe equivalent that allows you to modernize your marketing campaign platform while keeping customer data behind the company firewall.
Tolerating a lesser system is no longer acceptable, particularly in such a fast-paced environment where seconds matter, and where precision marketing has a proven measurable impact on conversions, loyalty, retention, and lifetime value.
Check Your Gear: Are you Staying Ahead of the Game?
Periodically it’s worth checking on your software solutions to see if they’re still measuring up. Looking specifically at campaign automation platforms, recent advancements brought faster processing times for even the largest workflows, sophisticated segmentation that produces updated lists whenever segments are included in downstream audiences, no-code API connections to other tech, and real-time feedback loops.
It’s not just about making your process easier, because these advancements do. It’s also about what you could be delivering in terms of campaign results, and what you could add to the mix to elevate your game. What are your opportunity costs? Let’s break it down.
First, processing times. This is fairly self-explanatory. How fast can your current system process data, and is that slower than what other providers can deliver? Do you experience lag time when processing large data sets? It’s possible something more modern could speed that process for your team.
Next, segmentation. Is your current segmentation static or dynamic? Modern segmentation technology includes dynamic capabilities. What makes segmentation “dynamic” is the ability for the system to automate segments once they’re created, with audiences moving into and out of outlined segments during the natural progression of customer journeys. For example, a segment that specifically excludes customers that have already completed an online application would automatically pull in an updated group of customers, as more complete the application over time. Another key element of dynamic segmentation is the ability to create a segment once and re-use it with different functional teams and across channels, even as the segment is dynamically updated.
Third, file transfers. While batch file transfers were once the norm, today’s modern systems utilize native API connectors whenever possible. Native API connectors offer much faster and tighter connections than legacy hard-coded batch transfers that are not nearly as fast or as easy to set up. But API connectors don’t just benefit the IT teams that do the coding to “plumb” the connections. They give marketers the ability to rapidly launch, test and measure campaigns, and pivot toward the best results. If your team is still using batch transfers to send data to and from your CRM, email service providers, advertising platforms and social media, you may not be moving as quickly as you could.
Fourth, fast, real-time feedback. A continual feedback loop that provides real-time insights that are immediately fed back into the system improves segments on-the-fly and optimizes campaign metrics. The result? Speed and greater efficiency with keeping up with your customers in the cadence of their customer journeys. No more frustrating data siloes that cloud your visibility into what a customer is doing in the moment. No more having to rely on data scientists to create offline models for segmentation that become outdated faster than you care to admit. No more having to wait a few hours to adjust your abandoned cart strategy because you’re still waiting on a/b test results.
Real-time insights help you put your finger on the pulse of your customers and be ready with next-best actions at the individual level, at scale.
Consider the Possibilities
It can be difficult to grasp the magnitude of a change when you’re still moving forward with incremental gains, or if you’re able to show month over month improvements. But in accepting those small gains as status quo, you’re essentially benchmarking against yourself. Change starts by rethinking what’s possible. Here are some tips for narrowing the field when considering what a modern solution can deliver:
- Consider solutions that have a similar feel, such as a visual workflow-based process, that would make it easier for your teams to adapt to a new platform.
- Review implementation and data storage and processing against your security requirements. If your highly sensitive data is best managed behind your own firewall, seek solutions that don’t require moving your data to their cloud.
- What new features or processes could reduce your costs or improve results? For example, could the inclusion of data cleansing and unification as core competencies of a marketing platform provide better downstream campaign results? Could clean audience lists reduce advertising and direct mail waste or consumption-based costs from messaging vendors? Could better segments and cross-team sharing of audiences streamline your campaigns across the organization?
- Could you deprecate ancillary plug-in software solutions (and their costs) with a full-featured system that eliminates the need for them?
- Review onboarding, training and support options. Does the new software provider have ample resources to help smooth your transition and achieve ongoing success?
- Consult with your internal IT team. Are there maintenance processes related to your current solution that would be easier with the new vendor? What time and cost savings could be achieved over time?
Concerns over a move become harder to justify when you start to see what’s possible with a modern marketing automation platform.
Lace Up for a Faster Future
Outdated marketing technology is like a comfortable old running shoe. It’s familiar and it keeps you moving, but it’s not going to help you win any awards. Legacy systems simply can’t match the speed, precision, and efficiency of a modern platform designed for today’s dynamic customer journeys.
By upgrading to a modern customer engagement platform, you’ll move faster, respond with agility, and can gain a measurable edge over the competition. Unified customer data, real-time insights, and seamless execution across channels all become a reality – all while keeping your data securely behind the firewall.
Don’t settle for incremental gains when transformation is within reach. To learn more about how Redpoint can help you reach your goals, click here.
