It’s been a long time coming, but finally the performance marketer is being recognized as a legitimate profession that deserves to be taken seriously.
I would argue that it’s about time too, especially since there are so many distinctive advantages to working with a performance marketer over an agency.
Performance marketing is no longer just about getting clicks or conversions; it’s about helping people achieve their goals online and providing them with relevant information at the right time to better inform their buying decisions.
In this article, we will explore some of these leading trends in performance marketing including:
Let Startups And Agencies Handle The Execution
If you’re a marketer, it can be difficult to work with startups and agencies. The good news is that they can help you achieve your goals faster than ever before.
Startups are less expensive than agencies. They are also able to adapt more quickly than big companies because they don’t have as many processes in place.
Most importantly, they partner with clients on projects instead of selling them out of fear that their competitors will do the same thing if they don’t stay ahead of everyone else by using innovative techniques like AI technologies or blockchain protocols (which require an experienced programmer).
A good startup will ensure your success by building rapport with its clients early on to get their attention on each project before it launches publicly.
So that customers will feel confident about purchasing from them without hesitation later on down the line when things get busy again after launch season ends!
Your Customer Journey Could Be Broken
At the heart of your customer journey is a simple question: “How do you get there?” It’s the path a customer takes from the first point of contact to the point of purchase.
Your buyer might have made several stops along the way before making that final decision, and each one was an important part of their journey.
A good customer journey should include as many touchpoints as possible so you can engage with your users at every phase in their journey.
The goal is to move them through this process in an organized manner, whether they are moving toward conversion or just looking for more information while they’re considering which product to buy or use.
The best way to do this is by tracking activity across all channels that relate directly back to your marketing data warehouse (MDW). Once these connections are established, it becomes much easier to understand how each channel interacts with one another and how they affect overall performance metrics such as revenue per visitor (RPV) or cost per action (CPA).
Performance Marketing Is Not A Sausage Factory
If you’re a marketer, you’ve probably heard the expression “performance marketing is a sausage factory” before. It’s not.
Performance marketing is a process that requires thoughtfulness, consistency, and patience. It’s not one-size-fits-all and can’t be rushed into it takes time to build trust with your audience, create great experiences for them and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Performance marketing isn’t easy; it often means working long hours with little recognition or paycheck (although the payoff will come).
But if you stay focused on creating authentic connections with real people who are interested in what you have to offer and don’t give up when things get tough you’ll find tremendous success by building relationships that last over time instead of just making quick sales from cold calls or spammy emails.
You Need A Shared Vision And Language
As a marketer, your job is to help your company achieve its goals. And as a PM, it’s yours to make sure you have all the necessary resources to do just that.
But because of the different ways that marketers and PMs work, this can be tricky. The good news?
There are ways you can help foster communication and understanding between yourself and your various colleagues to create a team environment where everyone works together toward success.
For one thing: You need to understand each other’s roles and their limitations so you know what kind of language will be most effective when communicating with each other or pitching ideas for projects.
At the end of the day, there will always be differences between how marketers approach things from a creative standpoint versus how product managers think about problems from an analytical point of view (i.e., “The data shows ___. What does that mean for us?”).
Think About The Human Experience
Marketers are one step away from taking out the performance marketer.
Why? Because designing for the human experience is important, marketers need to start thinking about how their products are used by people.
Good design is intuitive and easy to use. It’s also mobile-first, which means that you build your site or app with mobile in mind first (not desktop).
You should be designing for the human experience, too designing what people want out of your product or service, not just what you want them to do once they get there.
Finally, think about the customer journey and how customers interact with your brand across all channels (online and offline), at every stage of their relationship with it, and then use those insights when designing new features or making changes to existing ones
Experiment, Experiment, Experiment
If you’ve ever paid for advertising or boosted posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, then you’re already doing some form of experimentation.
But if you want to be a performance marketer, then it’s time to step up your game. It’s time to get serious about testing every aspect of your marketing efforts.
Not just the headlines and calls-to-action in emails, but also the images used in ads and articles even the number of characters in those articles (spoiler alert: fewer is better).
And that’s just scratching the surface. There are many different ways to test things like CTAs (call-to-actions), landing pages, email design elements, and more. And once again I’ll remind you: experiment!
Focus On Outcomes, Not Outputs
What if you were a performance marketer? What if the only thing that mattered to you was the result?
The truth is, many of us are more focused on the process than on what’s important: getting results. When we focus too much on our output, we can easily get caught up in doing things that don’t matter.
We can get distracted by shiny objects and short-term wins that ultimately won’t bring us any closer to our long-term goals or help us achieve our strategic objectives.
Consider this example: You’re going somewhere really far away and your car breaks down halfway there; what do you do? Do you call AAA or take it in for repairs right away without knowing how long it will take them to fix it or whether they’ll even be able to fix it?
Or do you put your broken-down vehicle out of sight and head towards your destination as soon as possible so that even if something happens along the way (like getting stuck in traffic), at least part of your trip has been completed successfully?
Have A Data Strategy
A data strategy is crucial to the success of your business. If you don’t have a data strategy, then you are one step away from taking out the performance marketer.
Data should be at the center of your marketing strategy, product strategy, and sales strategy. All three can be made better if they are supported by great customer data that lets you understand who your customers are and what they need.
The good news is that there are lots of tools available to help marketers create these strategies (and more importantly use them consistently).
Invest In Technology And Processes To Maximize Results
It can be tempting to think of technology as something for the science fiction crowd, but it’s been around for a long time and will continue to be a key part of your marketing plan. That said, not all technologies are created equal.
The ones that matter most are those that improve your workflow and enhance your data collection efforts.
Here are some of our favorite tools:
Workflow tools like Asana and Trello help you organize projects by tracking tasks with due dates, making it easier to stay on track and measure progress.
They also keep everything in one place so you don’t have to worry about losing key information or forgetting crucial steps in the process (especially when working with multiple teams).
We’re big fans of Asana because its interface is intuitive enough for even non-techies like us – but if you’re looking for something simpler then try Trello instead!
Data management tools such as Google Analytics or Mixpanel allow marketers to access data from web traffic sources such as websites and social media platforms.
So they can analyze performance metrics such as bounce rate percentage and conversion rates across different channels throughout each campaign cycle (or even over time).
These platforms also offer user experience analytics which helps identify segments based on behavior patterns within specific demographics so advertisers can target their best leads more efficiently (and avoid wasting money advertising towards those who aren’t likely prospects).
Cross-Device Strategies Are Crucial For Success
The ability to track a user’s online activity and determine a clear path of engagement is crucial for marketers who seek to maximize their ROI.
By using cross-device strategies, you can connect with your customers across multiple devices and platforms, allowing you to build better customer profiles.
The following are four ways in which cross-device strategies can help you achieve success:
They provide real-time data about customer behavior so that you can make better decisions when planning marketing campaigns.
They allow you to optimize your digital advertising by increasing conversions, gaining new leads, and increasing brand awareness.
They improve campaign performance by optimizing budgets based on user behavior across all channels rather than just one channel at a time.
They allow greater personalization by creating personalized experiences based on the user’s history with your brand across different devices (e.g., email or web browser) or applications (e.g., mobile).
Improve Attribution For Improved Results
With the right solution in place, you can begin to measure and optimize every digital touchpoint your customers interact with. You’ll be able to see which channels are driving the most value, where performance is weak, and how you can improve it.
With that intelligence in hand, you can make smarter decisions about where to invest your marketing dollars and more importantly, why you should invest there.
Be Open To New Channels, Just Because They’re New Doesn’t Mean They Don’t Work
While you might be thinking about your email marketing strategy and what you can do to improve it, I want to make sure that you don’t forget about the other available channels. While email may still be the most effective channel for some companies, there are plenty of new opportunities out there too.
The world has changed a lot in recent years, so it would be foolish not to consider them when it comes to your marketing efforts.
Take Facebook Messenger as an example: while many people dismiss this as just being another messaging app with no real value for businesses (and they may have a point), it can be quite effective if used correctly.
For instance: if you have an onboarding flow or training course on your website, then having someone sign up via Messenger allows them to access those resources right away without having to navigate through your site first (or fill out forms).
That way they can get started right away instead of having things delayed by going through all kinds of hoops just so they can access what they need!
Conclusion
If you’re willing to look beyond the usual tactics, consider new ways to leverage performance marketing, and experiment with new channels, then you can be sure that your brand will flourish. And if not? Well then maybe it’s time for a change!

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.