In a recent blog, we unveiled a new research report, Marketers are on a Mission, and examined the first trend it highlighted: The need for marketers to create much more personalized customer experiences. This article will take a closer look at the next trend, which is the topic of investing in marketing technology and services, especially multichannel solutions.

(Be sure to stay tuned for future articles summarizing additional trends from Marketers on a Mission, or download the entire report here.)

The need for multichannel technology

When I first read Marketers are on a Mission, one sentence really jumped out at me: 50 percent of millennials are still buying in store, and 90% of consumers report that they have browsed online and then purchased in a store.

These may seem like natural behaviors, but these stats prove that consumers still use digital and physical channels. This may be surprising to marketers who have been led to believe that their customers purchase only in the digital world (website, social media platforms, mobile, etc.).

But it really shows that marketers must do all they can to make the omnichannel experience much more appealing than ever before. They can’t guess which channels may or may not work and need to invest in multichannel technologies and solutions.

Growing budgets, growing investments

It seems like many marketing teams agree. Survey respondents reported that they are currently investing nearly 17 percent of their budget on multichannel technologies and services, which is 26 percent more than any other technology.

There’s more good news, too. The research shows that marketers are investing in additional technologies to support their stated priority of increasing personalization. After all, when you think about it, some of the most important components in providing highly personalized experiences are data and analytics and behavioral marketing technology.

This is exemplified in a quote from Matt Berry, digital marketing manager from Herschend Family Entertainment and one of Liveclicker’s clients: “We’ve upped our email game with personalization and dynamic content to communicate with customers on a one-to-one basis – and lift engagement. Now we’re further improving our use of data and analytics to gain deeper insights to hyper-target communications based on their engagement levels and channel preferences.”

Marketers are shifting their investment strategies to focus on both of these areas. As you can see in the chart below, 83 percent of respondents stated they were investing in data and analytics while 57 percent reported investments in personalization and behavioral marketing technology.

Take advantage of a new opportunity

The report also found that marketers in all industries currently prioritize their investments to drive traffic to online, mobile, and in-store in that order.

It’s a little bit of a surprising strategy, especially when you consider the survey finding that shows that consumers still prefer in-store experiences over other channels.

This insight can even become a new opportunity. If marketers invest in the right technologies to engage and track multichannel behaviors – including in-store interactions – they will improve their ability to create and deliver relevant and timely customer messaging. Not only will this help them stand apart from the competition, but such an approach is bound to result in increased conversions, sales, and ROI.

How can marketers improve personalization and focus on improving ROI? That is a topic for another blog, so stay tuned.

Or, to get all of this information, all in one place, please download Marketers on a Mission now.