A Year of Evolution and Growth, Looking Ahead to 2024

In the dynamic landscape of marketing automation, HAVIK continues to carve its path as a pioneering force. We sat down with Nick Windey and Catrien Janssen, our managing partners, to delve into the accomplishments of 2023 and their exciting objectives for the forthcoming year.

What were some of HAVIK’s biggest accomplishments of 2023?

“Creating hybrid profiles within our workforce was key,” Catrien emphasizes, reflecting on this accomplishment of the past year. “We’ve been focused on expanding the skill set of our consultants. By fostering expertise in tool-agnostic marketing automation within Salesforce and enhancing both technical and strategic skills, we’re empowering our team to support our clients across diverse needs.”

Another achievement in 2023 was the successful execution of large-scale implementation projects within the manufacturing industry. Notably, the collaboration with Vandersanden stands as a testament to HAVIK’s expertise. In a true partnership, the teams of HAVIK and Vandersanden worked hand in hand on the implementation project. Migrating Vandersanden’s marketing automation from Selligent to Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement was a game-changer, elevating their marketing automation to new heights.

Another highlight of the year was the collaborative event organized with Salesforce. Nick explains that the event served as a platform for industry experts to share insights and best practices, emphasizing the shift towards moments-based marketing and unveiling strategies to maximize marketing automation’s potential. “Hosting our valued customers from the manufacturing & wholesale industry was a privilege.”

How has the marketing automation landscape evolved recently?

“Everything is more ROI driven now,” Nick begins, emphasizing the shift in the marketing automation landscape. People want concrete evidence of what their marketing efforts are yielding. That’s why HAVIK helps our clients to define measurable results and follow them up.

Catrien Janssen adds, “Absolutely. It’s all about making data-driven decisions. Clients want tangible evidence of their investments, and rightly so. The ability to substantiate strategies with concrete data is invaluable.”

The conversation steers towards the consolidation of data, a challenge many businesses face due to fragmented systems and siloed information. They explain that data silos were a significant challenge in the past, and to enhance customer experiences, we at HAVIK have been working towards customer centralization.

“By centralizing data, we’re able to focus everything around the customer and make data-driven decisions. This way you make informed decisions, clean and structured data is crucial. That’s an area where many companies still struggle, but luckily, we can help them with that.”

The collaboration between sales and marketing departments also emerges as essential. And that if you want a seamless, personalized, and customer-centric experience. The collaboration between sales and marketing is essential.

What do you often notice when new clients come knocking at your door?

Catrien and Nick explain that new clients often arrive with high-level strategies but struggle to translate them effectively in the marketing automation landscape. They have a deeper need for better integration of KPIs and campaign success metrics. Lucky for them, we at HAVIK, know just how to translate these strategies into a marketing automation environment.

They also explain that the roles of marketers and salespersons have evolved. “Embracing a data-driven mindset is key, shifting away from gut feelings towards leveraging technology for added value.”

What are your goals in 2024?

Looking ahead to 2024, HAVIK aims to deepen long-term relationships with clients. “Our primary goal is to further support them in achieving tool maturity. This ensures guaranteed tool adoption and facilitates the attainment of crucial insights essential for their growth. We also understand the importance of evolving with the market trends. By staying attuned to these shifts, we position ourselves to not just grow alongside our clients. We can also zoom out to see the bigger picture, contributing at a higher strategic level.”

This year, our emphasis at HAVIK was already on steering companies toward a solution-driven mindset. But next year, we want to focus even more on engaging clients in meaningful conversations to shift the focus from products to holistic solutions and customer-centricity. “By zooming out to comprehend the broader picture, we can better align with our client’s needs,” Catrien says. “It’s all about enhancing customer maturity, but you’ll see more about next year.”

As mentioned before ROI is one of the most important things, and as we approach 2024, the emphasis on measurable outcomes becomes increasingly crucial for businesses. Nick and Catrien explain that with the importance of ROI in mind, HAVIK is also tailoring our services accordingly. This way, we’ll be able to show the ROI again and again.

In conclusion, HAVIK’s journey through 2023 has been marked by remarkable achievements and a steadfast dedication to innovation. As they set their sights on 2024, the firm stands poised to continue redefining success, pushing boundaries, and leading the charge towards a more solution-centric, transformative business landscape.

Ready for the next step in your marketing automation process? Contact us to discover how we can elevate your marketing automation in 2024.