What’s cooking in 2017 for #martech? Not sure, but here’s what caught people’s attention on Twitter for the last month. This might show where things are heading in 2017.

Method

We examined the most retweeted (English language) tweets for the last 30 days, and then divided the number of retweets per tweet by the originator’s number of followers. This gives an engagement ratio. Then we weeded out the pure promotional tweets. Thus the result is both quantitative and qualitative.

Technology is driving the customer experience

From @DisruptionHub we have a nice post explaining how Virtual Reality, Artificial Intellience, 3D Printing and Chatbots are driving new levels of customer experience.

“Soon, AI systems will deal directly with customer queries. RBS has recently announced plans to do just this when the system is ready. Social robots like Pepper already work in customer services, but their use is limited to a handful of institutions including hotels. In future, consumers can expect to see the use of robots on the shop floor, powered by Artificial Intelligence and machine learning algorithms. Clients should also be prepared for the expansion of VR as an advertisement tool, especially in travel and tourism.”

What does it mean for 2017? If your competitors are deploying leading edge technologies such as chatbots, AI-assist and VR then you need to be up there with them or you need to be worried. Particularly if your brand message incorprates a theme of innovation then you need to be there or be square.

Is there simply too much content on the Internet?

@shane_barker achieved the 2nd highest engagement ratio with his retweet of @freddydobinson‘s blog post which explained how to differentiate and get your content noticed.

“In order to fully optimise your content, it is important to monitor and analyse success. Question the data and your audience to ensure you are making the most of the work you are putting in. Where necessary, edit, and return to the drawing board if you default on your business objectives.”

What does it mean for 2017? Even more emphasis will be directed towards measuring and refining the performance analytics associated with content. Typically enterprise-class customer engagement platforms like Sprinklr will benefit from this trend.

CMOs spending 27% of their budget on tech

@Yaagneshwaran delivered our 3rd highest engagement ration with his retweet of @chiefmartech‘s analysis of the latest enterprise marketing tech spend.

@chiefmartech discussed the latest Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2016 2017.

“According to their report, on average CMOs now allocate 27% of their budget towards technology. Doing the math, a 27% share of 12% of total company revenue is 3.2% that is allocated towards marketing’s technology budget. In comparison, on average, the CIO only spends 3.4% of the company’s total revenue on technology.”

What does it mean for 2017? With marketing’s annual growth rate for tech spending exceeding that of IT, the likelihood is that in 2017 marketing’s spend of technology will exceed IT’s as a percentage of total company revenue.

Summary

The trends of leading-edge technology becoming embodied in the customer experience, fine-tuning content for relevance and performance, and a continuing trend in outsized CMO investment in technology are all good heads-up issues to watch in 2017.