By Joshua Smith

There is no denying the fact that the marketer?s role is not getting any easier, especially now that the mobile and social media era demands real-time decisioning, personalized messaging and location-based offers.

To survive and thrive in today?s environment, marketers need to be capable of addressing several critical marketing challenges, using solutions tailored to the unique requirements of today?s consumer. Here they are.

Analytics
Many analytics solutions are a source of irritation for marketers. Complicated applications and overly complex data outputs make actionable data insights elusive, at best.

Rather than piecing together analytics insights from disjointed, IT-based tools, marketing professionals need to identify comprehensive services and solutions that offer real-time data insights ? in language that speaks more directly to the marketing department than the IT division.

Personal connections
Truly exceptional marketing creates personalized, on-the-spot connections between customers and products.

Unfortunately, many marketing applications fall short of delivering customized consumer experiences, making it hard to strike the right balance between customer desires and brand objectives.

In today?s consumer-driven marketing environment, marketing pros need to identify high potential customers for every product and service.

Ideally, the solution should have an equalizing effect on the customer-brand relationship, prioritizing offers that balance all dimensions of the customer engagement.

Precision and consistency
Whether they admit it or not, most marketers cannot guarantee 100 percent consistency in the messages that they are delivering to consumers.

Managing personalized engagements across multiple channels is difficult to pull off, even for experienced marketing veterans.

To minimize the potential for redundant or inaccurate messaging, marketers need to invest in their customers in real time, delivering precise messages that directly correlate to their preferences, needs and desires.

Although they are not necessarily a panacea, service-based marketing solutions dramatically improve marketing consistency and present relevant offers based on a range of customizable criteria.

Cost and simplicity
Let us be honest ? when every dollar counts, cost and speed of implementation are often the deciding factors in marketing solutions.

Traditional applications with high price tags and long implementation periods are not realistic options.

Marketers need affordable and comprehensive services that can be quickly implemented to deliver immediate return on marketing investment.

Cloud-based solutions are often a good route to go, as they are simple and affordable.

With standard free trials, software-as-a-service solutions eliminate risk and give marketers fast access to the resources they need to effectively market in the mobile era.

Joshua Smith is CEO of Toovio, Minneapolis. Reach him at .