Recently, the technology watchdog firm, Gartner, published its famous “Hype Cycle” on marketing-related technologies or, if you prefer, “martech”. In case you didn’t know, every year, the US firm publishes its Hypes Cycles for everything related to technology.
Five Cycles
Marketing, human resources, finance, communications, etc., everything is scrutinized or in this case, «cyclelized». Year after year, Gartner measures the evolution of different emerging technologies (I like this word emergence) according to 5 life cycles.
- Innovation Trigger
- Peak of Inflated Expectations
- Through of Disilusionment
- Slope of Enlightenment
- Plateau of Productivity
These cycles have names and lifespans. The first, called “Innovation trigger” is the beginning of cycles, where new innovative technologies, in this case in marketing, enter the market.
The most interesting or the most publicized in medias quickly rise in notoriety, “buzz” and hint at immense possibilities.
Can you see where I’m going with this? Not yet?
Then follow me a little more as I tell you about the future of marketing.
The Gartner diagram above clearly shows us where the different marketing technologies are and the pace of their adoption over a ten-year period and across the five cycles. The next two cycles are particularly revealing.
Bursting the bubble
Revealing of the adoption of technologies in all areas of human activity. After their arrival on the world stage, a bubble or “The Peak of Inflated Expectations” is created, Gartner says. This is where anything is possible, even saving the world… But like the technology bubble of the early 2000s, comes the moment when “the bubble bursts”.
Gartner is talking about the «Path of Disillusionment». A dramatic drop in the hopes in technologies and a disillusionment due to the fact that these technologies do not deliver the desired results or are slow to do so. Some will survive their descent into hell, others will not.
In light of this analysis, we can look at the graph and find that the majority of what the industry and its gurus are trying to establish as the grail of marketing is for many, only pretensions or predictions.
Blockchain and AI
According to the graph, what is the technology located at the top of inflated expectations? Yes, artificial intelligence. And which one is in the depths of disillusionment? Personalization tools and influence marketing.
Attention! This does not mean that all three will disappear. Far from it. In fact, artificial intelligence, like influencers, will find their niche and reach the “Plateau of Productivity” over a period of between 2 and 10 years.
And what is the technology that is entering the cycle for the first time? The chains of blocks for advertising. The what???
Better known as blockchain, this technology, like all others, promises to revolutionize digital marketing. See what Hubspot says in a post:
«This is How Blockchain Could Change Digital Marketing Forever»
What Forbes says…
Of course, artificial intelligence, which, let’s remember, is at the height of its popularity, already has applications in several areas SUCH AS marketing, as mentioned in the post published by Forbes entitled:
«10 Charts That Will Change Your Perspective Of AI In Marketing».
A good post with a host of graphs and statistics to support it like:
21% of sales leaders rely on AI-based applications today, with the majority collaborating with marketing teams sharing these applications.
Sales leaders predict that their use of AI will increase 155% in the next two years. Sales leaders predict AI will reach critical mass by 2020 when 54% expect to be using these technologies. Marketing and sales are relying on AI-based marketing automation, configure-price-quote (CPQ), and intelligent selling systems to increase revenue and profit growth significantly in the next two years. – Source: Salesforce Research, State of Sales, 3rdedition. (58 pp., PDF, free, opt-in)’’
To have the means…
The Forbes post refers to several studies but all relate to large companies that have ambitions and above all, the means for these ambitions.
In this context, our title is a little discouraging for Quebec companies that are striving to market in B2B or B2C and who see these new cycles of technology arrive without having the time or the means, to take an interest and commit to them firmly in their own digital and intelligent transformation, depending on their ability to invest.
On the other hand, what can encourage them in that these technologies will have taken many years to reach the plateau of productivity and will therefore be easier to integrate, with more case studies and, all this at a lower cost!
Talk to us about it!
So, before embarking on major investments, check who will benefit and especially when, and if you want more information, call on our experts.
As a member of the NextBlue Alliance, a group of companies offering IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence-based solutions, ExoB2B is well positioned to help your business in your digital shift. Contact us!
