I'll just clear something up right away - this is a self-serving post because it discusses something I think everyone should do… purchase great marketing technology. Vice President and Senior Research Analyst at Forrester Research, Shar VanBoskirk, took time in her keynote address this morning to help those listening understand their own risk factors - and the perception of risk - when purchasing technology innovations designed to improve marketing results. Obviously, I feel she makes compelling points really drive home the idea that a tough economy should not preclude investment in winning technology - that's how companies succeed even when the economic deck seems stacked against them.Shar laid out 17 questions that a technology buyer can ask themselves to assess the worth of a possible purchase risk. I won’t list out all 17, but there are a couple of questions that stood out. First, asking yourself if this innovation requires skills you don’t currently have. I think this is important because a lack of familiarity with an innovation can eliminate a worthwhile risk for all the wrong reasons. Second, the more elegant solutions “plug in” and enhance current infrastructure. So, when asking yourself “does this innovation alter products, displays or channel relationships” it’s important to have a grounded perspective on what the risks are for the technology innovation. An honest assessment of how the innovation can impact the business is important, and requires a bit of time and research.
Most importantly, she said, “Think about [adding worthwhile technology] incrementally, in bite size pieces.” This is an important point because one of the barriers to adoption good technology by companies is not the perception of risk, but the perception of difficulty. Even in the face of great case studies and quantifiable data, implementing marketing technology solutions that improve relevance of consumer communications, for example, seems hard. More creative is needed, more operational costs can be incurred, etc. So, it’s not important to completely revolutionize the entire marketing strategy, but adding bite size pieces that address specific business needs with the right technology, and add necessary elements when need or opportunity are apparent.
Looking forward to my afternoon session about new media. Check back for that post later in the day (the session isn’t until 5:15p Eastern).
