The world is about to experience an inflection point in technology poised to revolutionize the way businesses market their products and services. 5G wireless technology coalescing with artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and a host of spinoffs not yet created will change the way companies reach out to their customers. So get ready for a wild ride into the near future as you explore the new landscape and internalize these five ways this tectonic shift in wireless speeds will shape the marketing end of your operation.

1. Customer Data Collection and Utilization 

You’ve probably heard about how 5G wireless will exponentially increase streaming rates while reducing latency or wait times to near zero. But you may not yet have considered how this rapid, instantaneously accessible data will influence how you interact with your customers.

Your clientele will go through rapid evolution as the new technology takes hold in every area of their lives. If you think bounce rates are high now because customers are impatient, wait until 5G arrives. They will quickly expect you to know their preferences on initial contact. Your customers will want you to understand what they want without explaining it.

Data acquisition will take on a whole new meaning. The Internet of Things (IoT) will use tiny sensors embedded in everything from refrigerators to designer clothes to collect data 24 hours a day. You will have the tools to instantly mine meaningful information from this information mountain to guide you to particular actions.

Instead of guessing what your customers may want by looking at a spreadsheet or a chart, AI will help inform your decisions more meaningfully. Analyzing thousands, millions or more data points and sifting out the patterns and penchants of your shoppers in real-time will raise the bar on the level of interaction they expect from businesses.

2. Marketing Campaign Management

Rolling out bulky marketing campaigns will quickly become a thing of the past. Instead, the new focus will be on the individualization of marketing contacts. In addition, the high performance of the approaching phase of 5G will make it possible for marketers to target demographic points instead of slices.

The new 5G network architecture paradigm of a global system will eliminate companies’ need for internal infrastructure that make such data-intensive strategies possible. Marketing departments will no longer require bloated IT staff to support their efforts. As 5G wireless culminates, connected devices such as tablets and smartphones will be all that is necessary to continuously launch and run myriads of campaigns trained on the verbally expressed and implied inclinations of your customers.

Without the liability of IT infrastructure support, which is already dwindling thanks to cloud computing, businesses will trend toward “light devices.” The network will be ubiquitous, and anyone can connect to and benefit from its immense reach and speed.

3. ‘Hyper-Mobile’ Officing

Remote workers will likely take on a quaint ring as people begin realizing the capabilities of 5G wireless. Instead of being locked into an office location or working from home with extensive in-house IT staff, workers will be free to work from anywhere 5G is available.

The increased speed and lower latency give marketing staff instantaneous streaming access to everything they need: applications, data, live video – any content. As a result, the need for brick-and-mortar workplaces will dwindle rapidly. Instead, marketing teams can collaborate, interact with customers, and gather and interpret data no matter where they prefer to work.

VR can help teams feel connected even if they are geographically apart. Instead of video teleconferencing in its current sense, complete with all the infamous glitches and faux pas, VR meetings will take on a “real-world” feel.

AR will provide the means to share data with teams visually. Each team member will have the ability to customize how they see and interact with data. Concepts can be transferred easily among team members without lots of explanations. Customizable 3-D representations of data presented in virtual space will smooth the current turbulence associated with sharing information remotely.

4. Advertising Media Mix

Marketers will have to change how they reach out to customers in almost every way imaginable. Recently, desktop machines connected to the internet supplanted television as a primary advertising channel. Subsequently, wireless communication devices have all but replaced the stationary computer workstation.

As the evolution continues, the pace of change is accelerating. Marketers already have to plan advertising media uses that are only concepts. Once they become a reality, these new forms of customer attraction will undoubtedly take the place of current digital advertising.

So, where once contextualized advertising on websites and social media was effective, soon, marketers will have to develop strategies to exploit the new advertising capabilities available. Delivering ad content to customers in AR and VR spaces will be the norm. These technologies are growing and will be ready for widespread use once 5G becomes a reality. So expect to read more news like the recent boom in virtual real estate. Start adjusting your advertising mix to correspond to this new way of thinking.  

5. Continual Adaptability

Preparing for the future is never an easy task: too many unknowns. With the increased pace of change, the problem of adapting to new realities becomes even trickier. Marketers will have to learn how technology affects their customers’ habits.

The principles of good marketing won’t change, but the tools will undergo a total transformation. Learning to work with the new tools, while intuitive, will likely be a difficult task for some.

The adage about “life-long learning” will become necessary for survival in the new model. The biggest challenge for marketers, as always, will come from customers and figuring out what they want. How well businesses can keep up with the rapid changes will be the sole factor in determining success. The new set of customer expectations will come quickly and be unforgiving. As a result, businesses will adapt to their new marketing roles, or they will flounder.  

It’s an exciting time for marketers. The shifting environments keep the work interesting, and the possibility for new opportunities is growing at the speed of 5G.