No one’s surprised anymore how much marketers know about them. One woman admitted on social media that she shopped for things she wanted for her birthday using her boyfriend’s computer, knowing he would start seeing ads for all the items she viewed. It’s a micro-segmented world!
In fact, it’s a martech world. That’s short for marketing technology—the tools that marketers use to optimize their strategies.
There are so many tools, it’s called a stack
Marketing has undergone a sea change as customer data and contact points have proliferated. We now talk about a marketing stack—the mix of tools and technology that a given business uses to attract and retain customers.
The CDP, or customer data platform, is the basis. It collects data from all sources to create a powerful database of highly targeted customer intelligence. This information is used by other platforms—email marketing, digital experience, social media, and more—to enhance and personalize the customer experience. Customer relationship management tools, called CRMs, are also a part of the mix. They are used to manage the sales and customer service function.
Martech analysts report that the market has grown from about 150 marketing solutions in its first year (2011) to over 14,000 last year (2024)!
Simple and fast
These tools are popular because they work. From a document preparation standpoint, they offer features like as-you-type optimization advice, keyword research, grammar and style checkers, AI-powered translation, and predictive content suggestions (insights on what type of content performs best). You can imagine the time savings! The sheer volume of materials that advanced segmentation demands makes automation an absolute prerequisite for many functions.
Is automation always better?
Not necessarily. Writing and translation aids are a good case in point. When you’re writing an email blast or a social media post, it’s great to have on-the-spot advice. Studies show that writers are indeed more productive with the occasional nudge. But the key word is “writers.” If you are not a trained professional, no tool can write compellingly in your place. You want to stand out for the quality of your message, not for the canned clichés of your machine output.
What about translation?
Today’s AI-driven translation tools are a godsend. Many things that went untranslated in the past from lack of time or expertise are now available to audiences everywhere. That’s a big advance. But as you probably know from your own experience, machines are not always spot on. And if they’re publicly available translation tools, they know nothing about your in-house terminology.
What happens to your carefully crafted corporate voice when you translate into German or Spanish? How does your slogan sound in French? The answers matter. There is no point saving time and money on document production if the documents undermine your public image. You are actually losing money.
Do what you do best: strategize!
Costly mistakes can occur. You need to perform a risk analysis on all the communications you produce:
- What will happen in the event of a factual error?
- What if something is mistranslated?
- Does my corporate voice need to be reflected in every document?
- Does writing quality always matter?
- Will my search engine optimization suffer in other languages?
- How will customers react to machine-generated content? Will everything sound generic?
You may find that you have a hierarchy of documents—some that are of lesser consequence, others that are mission critical. It will depend on things like audience and lifespan. Once you’ve got a handle on it all, you can segment your communications with the same precision you use to segment your customer base.
Professional help is available
TRSB, Canada’s premier provider of language services, can help. We have decades of experience in bilingual and multilingual content management. We’ll take a look at your document production process and make suggestions on content creation, copy editing, proofreading, and multilingual SEO, among other things.
We also have an entire division dedicated to marketing adaptation—we’ve worked with corporate marketing departments and ad agencies for years. Our language professionals are comfortable in multiple fields of expertise, including technical areas like banking, pharmaceuticals, and insurance.
Better yet, our work environment is overseen by a team of IT professionals who keep everything safe and secure. You’ll also appreciate TRSB’s valuable companion services for marketers, including accessibility compliance certification, eLearning campaign management, and copy localization for foreign markets.
If your challenge involves words, you should involve us. Let’s sit down and go over your requirements. There is no cost and no obligation.
