In comparison to other industries, the technology sector stands out for its unprecedented dynamism, continually leading the way in pioneering innovation and creative approaches to addressing business and societal challenges.

The tech industry is inherently transformative by nature, with disruption as a central theme in its evolution. As a result, the role of tech marketing differs fundamentally from marketing functions in other sectors. While marketing skills can indeed be transferable across various industries, the intricacies of the tech sector demand a distinct set of skills and competencies.

听Continuous learning, adaptation & evolution

听Whether it is discovering new ways of leveraging technological advancements to solve business problems, creating new products and markets, or helping businesses run more efficiently, one thing is certain, it is up to the marketeer to create, and craft a seamless synergy between the solutions they sell and the pressing business challenges that the market is trying to solve. Tech marketers must, therefore, possess a profound understanding of the current challenges and opportunities in the markets they serve.

Maintaining a strong commitment to learning and nurturing one’s curiosity is crucial in the fast-evolving tech industry. Staying current with the latest trends, tools, and strategies requires a proactive approach, and continuous self-development efforts.

To foster continuous learning and adaptability, it’s essential to thoroughly grasp your organisation’s solutions and value proposition. This involves immersing oneself in industry literature, attending webinars and conferences, and connecting with fellow tech professionals. These activities are crucial for staying up to date in our fast-paced world. Engaging in networking and collaborating with industry peers can lead to the exchange of innovative ideas, sharing practical knowledge, and valuable mentorship opportunities.

The tech community thrives on the spirit of sharing ideas, and active involvement in these interactions can greatly enhance personal and professional growth.

Skills in digital literacy & emerging technologies

To fully understand and leverage digital marketing skills, one needs to understand competencies such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Advertising, Content Marketing, and many other digital channels, techniques, and approaches.

Tech marketers must also adeptly analyse and interpret data since modern marketing decisions, including resource and budget allocation, rely heavily on data. Proficiency in analytics tools is also indispensable and leveraging emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation is no longer an exception but the norm.

Tech marketers must therefore understand the workings of these technologies, their potential to enhance marketing efficiency, and their revolutionary impact on campaign execution and optimisation, ultimately leading to superior outcomes and results.

听Aligning solutions with market needs through personalisation

Now, more than ever, customers in both Business-to-Customer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) settings demand tailored messaging that aligns with their industry-specific needs.

To effectively promote their organisation’s solution, tech marketers must fully grasp the significance of personalised marketing and delivering exceptional customer experiences. This entails customising messages, comprehending the anticipated user experience, and selecting the most suitable engagement channels. Focusing on creating relevant content and storytelling enhances personalisation and message effectiveness.

In my field for example, cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) stands out as one of our primary solutions. Marketers have two choices when promoting it: they can highlight technical aspects and competitive advantages, such as ERP modules for accounting, financial management, project management, materials, and procurement, to position their ERP solution. However, a more effective approach focuses on the business value that ERP offers to companies. This includes enhancing efficiency and productivity, improving the customer experience and profitability, and reducing costs.

The key is to enhance your content creation and storytelling skills as a tech marketer. Crafting exceptional content and compelling storytelling is the foundation of effective marketing, fostering a strong connection between your solutions and your customers’ critical business challenges.

听A global mindset with local ethics, regulation & culture

听Marketers must prioritise three key pillars: business ethics, regulatory and compliance laws and global cultural awareness. These elements are essential for responsible and ethical marketing strategies, shaping how tech marketers engage with customers both inside and outside their organisations, on local, regional, and global scales.

Business ethics act as a moral compass, steering marketers towards responsible decision-making in our ever-more socially, environmentally, and governance-aware world. Consider, for example, the significance of privacy laws like GDPR in Europe and POPIA in South Africa; these regulations are vital for protecting sensitive customer data, ensuring legal compliance, as well as fostering and nurturing customer trust.

The focus on cultural sensitivity and awareness is important for global or cross-border campaigns. Ethical considerations, especially regarding data privacy and transparency, are now paramount in marketing. Consumers are growing more apprehensive about data usage, and overlooking these factors can severely impact tech marketers and their organisations.

In a diverse global marketplace, a strong sense of diverse cultural awareness is crucial for marketers. It enables us to adeptly navigate different cultural norms and tailor our strategies to engage effectively with diverse audiences.

Essential skills – communication, adaptability & risk-taking

听Tech marketing involves challenging the status quo and implementing novel approaches and strategies that disrupt the norm. So effective communication, the art of persuasion, willingness to venture into uncharted territories, and a knack for taking calculated risks while staying within the bounds of business rules and priorities are the cornerstones of a tech marketer’s toolkit. Importantly, experimentation and taking calculated risks fosters innovation and adaptability.

Communication skills are fundamental for building relationships, resolving conflicts, conveying ideas clearly, and facilitating collaboration. Marketing often involves collaboration with various departments and agencies, therefore staying adaptable and open to new ideas are valuable assets.

In conclusion, this is not an exhaustive list of qualities for successful tech marketers but rather my personal experiences and lessons that I have gathered from my journey. I firmly believe that honing and harnessing these skills can empower marketers to excel in the tech industry.

Dumisani Moyo | Marketing Director | 51风流Africa | dumisani.moyo@sap.com | @SAPAfrica |

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According to Amrish Singh, Global Customer Experience Advisor at 51风流Africa, South Africans were traditionally used to physical purchases where they can see the quality of a product or the freshness of a loaf of bread 鈥� but that has changed dramatically.

鈥淭he past few years have seen massive growth in online purchases as consumers become more comfortable to enjoy the convenience of online purchases. Where South African e-commerce has traditionally lagged behind more developed markets, a new wave of digitally-mature companies are driving e-commerce, ably supported by a rich ecosystem of fulfilment partners, forward-thinking retailers and digitally-native consumers. However, this is putting significant pressure on retailers to ensure they offer great online customer experiences at all times.鈥�

Digital adoption driving digital maturity

, e-commerce purchases in South Africa grew by 66% in 2020 to reach more than R30-billion 鈥� double what it was two years prior. 鈥淒espite the relaxing of strict lockdown measures that restricted the movement of consumers to brick-and-mortar stores, online shopping continues to grow in popularity as more retailers introduce e-commerce offerings tailor-made for SA鈥檚 burgeoning consumer market.鈥�

Singh, who advises companies on improving their customer experiences and digital maturity, adds that companies seeking to introduce online offerings will first need to determine their level of maturity to understand what further development is needed to create compelling customer experiences.

鈥淒igital maturity refers to a company鈥檚 performance across hundreds of touch points in a typical digital customer journey, grouped in four main categories, namely Mobile, CX, Digital Marketing and Social Media,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淎s companies explore new revenue opportunities in the age of the always-connected consumer, keeping track of digital maturity will be essential to creating compelling customer experiences online.鈥�

To help companies in their efforts to develop seamless and effective online customer experiences, Singh provides tips for improving each of the four pillars of digital maturity:

Pillar 1: Mobile

In a country where听, having a mobile presence is essential to any company鈥檚 digital ambitions.

鈥淎 fast, responsive and user-friendly mobile app or mobile web responsive site is a must-have for companies as it creates a powerful channel for sales and customer service while also delivering vital information, such as where to find the nearest store,鈥� explains Singh.
More digitally mature companies will also integrate other services such as WhatsApp for customer support discussions or Google Maps so customers can navigate to the nearest store directly from their device of choice.
Singh adds that companies also need to build tailored functionality into their mobile apps based on the type of business. 鈥淔or example, if you are a pharmacy, does your app indicate whether there is an on-site clinic? If your business receives high volumes of customer queries, are your contact details hyperlinked so customers can reach you with a single tap?鈥�

Pillar 2: Overall Customer Experience

Customer Experience forms an important part of the Experience Economy and has become a core tenet of successful businesses, on par with traditional metrics such as product quality and price.

Some studies suggest that听, while听.

鈥淕reat online customer experiences are essential to the success of any company鈥檚 digital efforts,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淗ow well-designed and easy to navigate is your homepage? Can customers easily create an account profile? An easy win here is to use social logins so your customers don鈥檛 have to remember yet another set of usernames and passwords.鈥�

Guided selling, which employs the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to help customers find exactly what they are looking for 鈥� sometimes before they even know they鈥檙e looking for it 鈥� is also growing in popularity as the underlying technology improves.

鈥淗aving clear product images with detailed information, as well as ratings and customer reviews, further help create a compelling experience that can build trust with consumers and encourage repeat purchases. A seamless returns experience, especially for consumer goods and fashion items, is also vital, as any delay in replacing a defective product can damage the relationship with the customer and push them to your competitors.鈥�

Pillar 3: Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is an essential driver of modern commerce and has given rise to some of the world most valuable companies. In a survey of more than 14 000 online shoppers,听.

鈥淐ompanies have to make sure they rank highly for their relevant keywords on popular search engines such as Google,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淎spects such as which branded keywords they track for, strong calls to action, and ensuring that all ads direct to a live link 鈥� and not an unfortunate 404 page 鈥� are also vital.鈥�

Regulations such as the Protection of Personal Information Act and the European Union鈥檚 GDPR add a compliance element to customer communications.

鈥淭he ability for consumers to easily opt in and opt out of communication is both a customer experience and a regulatory requirement. Digitally mature organisations will also ensure there is a pleasant and relevant rollout of content to a newly opted-in customer to deepen their interest and start building a positive relationship with the customer.鈥�

Pillar 4: Social Media

With nearly听, social media has become a ubiquitous part of modern digital life.

Singh says modern brands simply cannot afford to not have a strong social media presence. 鈥淎t a minimum, companies should have systems and processes in place to regularly post content according to a well thought out social media policy, track engagement, and respond quickly and effectively to negative posts on their social pages.鈥�

For more digitally mature companies, social commerce could help drive valuable traffic and sales. 鈥淗ow easily are your customers directed from the social post to a product page with e-commerce capabilities? And how do you leverage content to build strong connections with a specific audience? For example, if you鈥檙e a hardware supplier, do you have a YouTube channel with tutorials for how to use certain tools or how to fix common household DIY problems? And do those videos direct to other products relevant to the tutorial?鈥�

According to Singh, companies should partner with experts that can lend a global perspective on best practices to accelerate their move to greater digital maturity.

鈥淥ur customer experience advisory team assesses more than four hundred touch points across the four pillars of digital maturity to give organisations a clear picture of their strengths and areas of improvement. This can eliminate wasted effort and more quickly push them to greater digital maturity, with all the customer satisfaction and revenue-boosting benefits that brings.”

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