In the Year 2000: Predictions for the Future of Marketing and Sales.

Do you remember the bit with Conan O’Brian and Andy Richter where they used to do, “In the year 2000” and make predictions about what the future brings?  We are more than half way through the year 2012 and there are some predictions we would like to make:

Technology will help bridge the gap between sales and marketing

The future of technology will help to bridge the gap between these two divisions of a company.  Why? Because by using technology, sales will no longer wonder if it is truly a qualified lead, but there will be all the data to back it up. 

Mobile devices are going to make the sales and marketing cycles shorter

Mobile devices are only improving. Our ability to have all the data we need at our finger tips will help close the sales cycles sooner. We are never out of touch.  We can see the figures any moment of the day and act on it with a phone call or a simple swipe on a touch screen.

Lead scoring will become more complete because temporal event data will be part of the algorithm. Instead of only relying on firmographic data or behavioral data, temporal event data will help score that lead with another level of detail to help create more conversations and introductions to your leads and prospects.

* This will also help define terms for sales and marketing.

Email marketing will continue to be an important marketing strategy, but…

We will need to make sure that we send relevant, timely messaging with clear CTAs.  With a shorter attention span, we will need to get to the point even quicker, especially as most will be reading from their insanely smart phone.  This means sending an email that someone will care about.  Hint Hint – use event data to stay tuned into what that “someone” will care about.

With all this automation, we will still need human connection.

We can and will automate just about everything.  This will help with research, strategy, analytics, planning, but execution will still remain a person-to-person job.  Marketing and sales will always benefit from the human interaction.  Remember the tools are there to help, not to replace your gregarious selves.  Everyone still wants connection in both, a sales and marketing cycle, to help build the foundation of trust that will ultimately move your prospects to leads, your leads to customers, and your customers to repeat customers.

Do you have any predictions?

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