Martech as we know it has reached a turning point. Investments aren’t paying off like they used to. Marketers are spending more on martech, but only [28%](https://martechtoday.com/report-companies-increase-martech-spend-but-struggle-to-keep-up-with-the-speed-of-its-growth-218082) of them feel they are keeping up with the overall growth of the martech landscape.As a result, many marketing investments are no longer moving the needle. In 2018, $96B will be spent on martech alone, and yet 66% of CMOs are not hitting their business targets.What’s going on here? Well, it’s no secret that humans are visual creatures. We always have been: [20%](https://www.canva.com/learn/visual-marketing/) of our brains is used purely for vision. We process visuals 60,000 times faster than text and we have an easier time remembering them, too.So it’s no surprise that visuals are now the basis of a successful marketing strategy. Blog posts [with images see 650% higher engagement](https://webdam.com/blog/brand-marketing-infographic) than posts without images. Considering that consumers are [85% more likely](https://webdam.com/blog/brand-marketing-infographic) to purchase a product after watching a video, visuals are a key part of the buying process.The problem with those traditional martech stacks is that most aren’t built for the visual era. And, that’s had a negative impact on marketers hitting their goals. But all hope is not lost. There is no better time than the present to bring your martech stack up to speed and into the visual era.**Here are three ways to get started:******1\. Use data visualization to connect with people****A statement listing out your recent credit card activity isn’t terribly exciting. But imagine if your credit card company sent you a detailed infographic showcasing your rewards tier, points balance, and the number of points you needed to reach the next tier. That would get your attention for a few reasons.A personalized infographic with your rewards information is easier to read than a standard statement. A quick glance would tell you everything you needed to know. And if the infographic revealed that you’re close to claiming a reward or reaching a new tier, that information is both valuable and helpful.A great example of this in the modern martech stack are the data visualizations used by data analytics tools that you might be already using, like [Domo](https://www.domo.com/) or [Tableau](https://www.tableau.com/). By embracing a visual-first approach, these tools make it simple for anyone in your organization who isn’t a data scientist to understand reporting. And turning a credit card statement into an infographic is essentially the same thing.That’s the magic of data visualizations; they make even complex data accessible to everyone.**2\. Communicate with images**As humans, we use visuals to communicate more than ever before. Every day, we use [5 billion](https://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-world-emoji-day-stats-the-emoji-movie-stickers/) emojis, we upload [1.8 billion](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/how-many-photographs-of-you-are-out-there-in-the-world/413389/) photos, and we like [4.2 billion](https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/) Instagram posts. That’s because visuals help us connect with each other in ways that words can’t. Images help us tell stories, convey emotions, and support our individual identities. So shouldn’t brands follow suit?Decades ago, it was impossible for marketers to connect with their customers using visuals. Technology couldn’t support it and marketers were warned against it. But in the modern, visual era, all of that has changed.With access to better testing tools, established design best practices to ensure that images look great on every screen, and more email clients supporting images, there is no reason to avoid using visuals in marketing communications.And, as you’ll see, it’s paying off for innovative brands everywhere.**3\. Get inspired by visual-first brands**Unique visual experiences resonate with people. Here’s proof.[Delta](https://movableink.com/resources/delta-case-study) created a unique data visualization for every single customer that gave them an overview of their travel activity throughout the year, right down to their preference of window or aisle seat. As a result, they lifted click-through rates by 132%.[Spotify](https://go.movableink.com/spotify-case-study.html?utm_source=inboundweb&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=spotifycasestudy)’s highly visual campaign gave their customers an overview of their favorite artists and songs, and they saw a 75% lift in engagement.The [NBA](https://movableink.com/blog/the-inkredible-5-nba) sent their fans an email that was personalized with their favorite team’s schedule and updated automatically in real-time. Fans were so excited that the NBA saw a 49% increase in website traffic as a result of the email.[Scholastic](https://movableink.com/blog/email-spotlight-scholastic) tried an innovative approach in their cart abandonment email by automatically pulling in an image of the item that a customer left in their shopping cart. It was a huge success, driving engagement up by 50%.[ADT](https://movableink.com/blog/the-inkredible-5-adt/) wanted to put an engaging spin on their monthly usage report with the goal of encouraging more people to arm their security system. Their data visualization is a great example of creating a unique experience, and their customers agreed: 82% said the visual was helpful.**Next steps for bringing your martech stack into the visual era**Your customers crave unique visuals at every marketing touchpoint, and as a result, there is a new set of requirements for marketers.These days, brands need to:Create compelling visual experiences… Based on all relevant data to that customer… That’s unique at every moment of engagement.Of course, marrying data with visuals _and_ creating unique visuals for every customer at every moment of engagement probably sounds daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. This is an opportunity to embrace a new visual experience platform that not only plays well with your existing martech stack but also helps bring it into the new visual era.Movable Ink’s [visual experience platform](https://movableink.com/platform) helps digital marketing leaders create visual experiences that move people. With Movable Ink, marketers can free their data from silos to generate intelligent creative with millions of unique variations, across multiple channels and billions of moments. More than [600 of the world’s most innovative brands](https://movableink.com/our-approach) have chosen Movable Ink as their visual experience platform.Want to learn more? [Get in touch](https://movableink.com/contact-us).
3 Reasons Why Now is the Time to Bring Your Martech Stack Into the Visual Era
