Marketing will soon be everybody’s job

In a world in constant dynamic change, the shape of marketing and the role of marketers is undergoing tsunami-like change – or is it really?

The answer is … not a simple one, but certainly one we as marketing leaders have to decipher and embrace.

Something old

Surprise, surprise … in the future, the mission of marketing remains largely unchanged – focus on customers and delight them.

Social platforms, mobile apps, big data and the like – they are incredible tools that are changing the way marketing can be accomplished. But at its core, the goal remains the same – you’ve got a brand and you’re trying to solve a consumer’s problem in a way that makes them want to buy your brand.

This means it still starts and ends with the customer. It means deep insight – and empathy translated into a relevant compelling proposition remains critical. And it means creatively getting to a powerful “big idea” is even more important than ever in an increasingly cluttered and fragmented environment … to have our marketing efforts embodied in something bigger, ideally iconic and purpose-driven.

Something new

Our customers are continually changing the way they access, consume and share information and make decisions – fuelled by the advent of technology, primarily digital and mobile devices.

They now live in an omni-channel world where the conversion funnel has become radically different. They now live in a world where their options and choices have proliferated.

They now live in a world where their voice and opinions can be heard and amplified across the globe via social media. No longer is it enough to bash consumers over the head with super-high media weights with your messages, because if they don’t care they can easily tune you out.

The good news? Likewise there are a mass of new technologies and platforms available to marketers – to access, analyse and act on data, to engage people wherever and whenever 24/7.

These tools and channels (and that’s essentially what they are) really raise the bar especially for marketers trained in the more traditional or classical approaches.

Now we have entered the age of brands as publishers and content creators, as conversation facilitators and community builders, as data-driven marketing engines; and evolving from a primarily campaign-driven quarterly cycle to include always-on, real-time access and engagement.

And importantly, even smaller companies or brands or from industries without large P&G or Coke FMCG-sized marketing budgets, are now able to potentially achieve strong impact. This is because now a brilliant idea cleverly seeded can leverage the crowd to get the word out at relatively little expense. The playing field has levelled significantly.

Something broader

Increasingly, everything will be marketing’s job … and marketing will be everybody’s job.

Marketing has moved from being mainly A&P at the “front of the funnel” to being influential through-the-line. It is touching so many more parts of the company now …. service, IT, operations, etc.

For example, big data and technology are clearly revolutionising marketing; and the customer experience has become an important marketing tool – being a key trigger of social media engagement and sharing,

We will need to market as an eco-system.

The implication is we need to organise in such a way that starts to break down the traditional silos in the business and take an enterprise-wide approach. What we will see though is a more conscious effort to bring disparate groups to the table to learn how to collaborate across screens, channels and moments of truth to deliver one experience to customers wherever they are in the life cycle.

Something true

As marketing continues to morph, the hard truth is that everyone of us will have to adapt and change, and the right mindsets and skill-sets will be key. Radical change requires significant growth in knowledge, skill, and competency. Essentially marketing has to unlearn what we’ve learned to date so we can master the new tools to engage with and solve the consumer’s problem in more effective and efficient ways.

Mindsets: Particularly challenging for older and traditionally trained marketers, it will come down to the willingness to learn the new ways, to have the big picture about what’s required and the commitment to actuate change. Conferences, books, learning from smart subordinates, hiring expert consultants … there are a multiplicity of ways to grow, but it must be a personal priority.

Skill-sets: Building teams which can handle not just conventional ATL/BTL, but also digital, and increasingly data analytics and content development.

Superior leadership, strategy and change-management skills: Critical in order to manage the growing and significant integration required between technology, operations and marketing.

Alvin Neo is the chief marketing officer (CMO) at Integrated Healthcare Holdings/Parkway Pantai.

[Image from Shutterstock]

Other articles from The Futurist:

Getting up close and personal by Mike King of IKEA Singapore
Still a touch ‘Mad’ but not for long by Anna Bory of Audi
The death of traditional and digital marketing, by Rahul Asthana of Kimberly-Clark
Up, up and away with Millennials, by Rick Harvey Lam of Accor Luxury and Upscale Brands
Welcome to the ‘third age of travel’ by Karun Budhraja of Amadeus Asia
The future(s) of B2B marketing by Andrea Lin of Citi
The mobile customer experience will fuel digital transformation in Asia Pacific by Forrester
Communicate… or die by Greg Klayton of Kadence
4 tips to becoming “2015 Marketer of the Year” by Ambrish Jain of Lenovo
What’s a bad personality trait for a marketer? by Abdul Rahim Bawa of MasterCard
How does a mobile led future look like? By Rohit Dadwal of the Mobile Marketing Association
Do you have the skills to be a futuristic marketer? by Marcus Chew of NTUC Income

This article was from Marketing Magazine’s special edition The Futurist, the January-February 2015 issue.

For the full issue, click here.