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A Decade of Game- Changing Technology
By 2030, our jobs as Marketing and Sales professionals will look a lot different than they do today. As new technologies arise, we will see many of our daily tasks become automated. This means that our human skills (the things that only we and no robot can ever do right) will become even more valuable.
It’s hard to understate the huge technological shift we’ll witness in the years ahead. Already in the past decade, we’ve seen the number of marketing technology tools skyrocket. According to one study, around 150 marketing tech solutions were on the market in 2011. Today, that number is over 8,000.
New technologies will take over many tasks that we currently spend hours working on each week, whether it’s forecasting, developing sales channel strategies, post-sales follow-ups, or administrative tasks. In fact, McKinsey reports that nearly one in three sales-related activities can already be automated using today’s technology. Imagine how that number will continue to rise in the years ahead as more and more automated, data driven solutions become available to us.
Technological innovation will not just reshape our jobs though. It will also change how our customers navigate the market-and what they expect of us. Today’s customers are already far more self-sufficient at the early stages of the buyer journey than they were a decade ago. They are used to accessing the information they need online, and they expect a smooth, intuitive, and personalized customer experience.
In the years ahead, that experience is going to include:
Augmented and Virtual Reality: Enabling customers to immerse themselves in our products and visualize the added value for themselves.
Internet of Things Connectivity: Using smart, data-driven devices to predict buyers’ needs and even automate shopping.
Omnichannel Growth: New sales channels will emerge, presenting new opportunities for reaching customers.
Access Everywhere: Shopping and communicating via mobile, smart-home devices, wearables, and whatever comes next.
Equipped with these technologies, the customers of the future will be better connected, better informed, and more discerning than ever. So, how can we continue to conversate with them and add value as Sales and Marketing professionals? Which skills will we need to acquire and expand by 2030? And which will we no longer need?
The Top “Hybrid” Skills for Sales & Marketing in 2030
If you’re a Sales rep, you probably remember the first few HD video calls you had with customers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shifting from in-person sales visits to virtual-only calls took some getting used to for all of us. It also meant acquiring some new skills, like finding your way around Zoom and even learning how to set up the best lighting for your appearance in front of the camera.
But after months of virtual sales meetings, many of you have now mastered the art of making a flawless online presentation. But besides hosting the perfect Zoom call, what skills will be crucial for Marketing and Sales professionals in the run-up to 2030? Here are a few to consider.
#1. Technical Skills
By 2030, Marketing & Sales departments will rely almost entirely on technology to perform their tasks. The ever expanding technology stack brings additional costs and complexity for companies. To simplify things, many companies will expect Marketing and Sales professionals to be able to self-serve many of their own IT needs. That means knowledge of APIs, software integrations and new tooling will become as essential in the future as product knowledge and soft skills.
#2. Consulting
As order-taking becomes fully automated, your value as a salesperson lies in your ability to serve as a partner and consultant to your customer. This will only become more important as the major trend towards increased product personalization reaches new heights. More than ever: Curiosity, expertise, and strong customer relations skills are among your strongest tools.
#3. Creative Data Analysis
As our operations become increasingly data-driven, we’re going to see a much greater demand for data analysts. But the true value that you can add as a data analyst will lie in your creativity. The companies that succeed will be the ones who are best at connecting the dots in their data and identifying meaningful customer insights to outperform customer expectations. The ability to recognize buyer behavior and target customers at precisely the right moment will become a highly sought-after skill.
#4. UX/CX Expertise
User/customer experience will be the factor that enables companies to stand out from their competitors more than anything in the years ahead. Especially as products become commodified in the later stages of market development, customer experience is the only way to make a difference. The challenge is to not only start but also continue the conversation. It takes empathy and attentiveness to get this right. Let’s add those to the list of top skills for 2030 too.
The Key to Winning the Future? The Human Factor
As you can see, we’ll be relying much more heavily on technology in the future to nurture leads, drive sales and collect buyer insights. These technologies will empower our organizations to deliver better customer experiences while performing with greater agility and increasing profit margins. But the real competitive advantage that Marketing and Sales organizations need to thrive in the future is: the human factor.
The valuable skills like the ones described above will not be fully replaced by technology any time soon. In the years ahead, we must leverage our uniquely human talents to start the conversation and foster meaningful, trust-based relationships with our customers.
The customers of 2030 will be more sensitive to the way we collect and use their data. And before they consent to let us have it, they will want to be sure they can trust us with it.
On the one hand, tomorrow’s customers will expect companies to offer them a personalized UX and even personalized products. On the other hand, they will be less willing to share their data upfront. As Sales and Marketing teams in 2030, we’ll have to find the right balance. It’s going to take transparency and a focus on added value. And that’s where our human qualities are going to make all the difference.
