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Long ago, marketing was considered a creative messaging placement exercise. Creating unique and memorable advertising or promotional hooks that your mind would resurrect when walking the aisle of a store.
No longer.
Today, the term “marketing” covers nearly every aspect of an organization. In order to promote and sell any product or service, every customer experience and interaction from initial awareness to repeat loyalty buying must be carefully designed, executed, and constantly measured and updated in real-time across all channels. All of these interactions bridge multiple departments and are underpinned by sophisticated and integrated technology.
“Marketing” has become “the business” and today’s business is heavily reliant on sophisticated technology. For a little context, let explore the new seven P’s of Marketing.
How the product itself best solves a consumer's problem has become increasingly technology-driven and subject to constant change. How could your product more easily solve a customer's problem? Be easier to use? Easier to buy? Could it be automated? Could it be predictive? Are you sure your product wouldn't be better as a service? Customers have never been more connected than they are today and correctly leveraging their newly adopted technologies is critical for future success.
Pricing strategy has never been more dynamic than today. Online or in person, companies are leveraging technology to adjust pricing in real-time in response to supply chain price fluctuation, regional price elasticity, competition response, etc. Ensuring a competitive price without leaving money on the table requires a level of speed only technology can deliver.
Promotional demand generation strategies across all channels (broadcast, streaming, events, social, chat, direct mail, etc) requires multiple skills, technologies, and integrations. Even traditional channels like direct mail use technology to identify specific recipients, customize the content and offer, provide online destinations for conversion and deep post campaign metrics. Today, every marketing promotion rests squarely on technology.
In a post-Covid world, in-store retail buying is totally different. The bar is far higher to earn foot traffic. You must deliver an exceptional, integrated and delightful experience. Buyers demand to shop on their terms, with immediate access to a range of in-person and virtual assistance. They expect the in-store experience to follow them home and fold comfortably into the product purchase and support experience.
Employees need to be empowered with immediate access to information, repetitive tasks eliminated with automation, and performance measured and encouraged in authentically positive ways, increasing outcomes in our “work from anywhere” world. Consumers need easier methods to resolve support issues, purchase additional products and make recommendations to friends. In an ever more tech-driven world, consumers crave connection and humanity from their brands, which (perhaps ironically) requires new and innovative technologies to deliver it cost-effectively.
Leading companies are constantly reimagining how their products are sold, used and supported. Can a five step process be a three step process? Could it be two? Simplifying a complex process requires new approaches to data, systems, integrations, and internal team structures. It also requires a new attitude toward risk and innovation - where failed tests are celebrated and inaction is never tolerated.
The increasing speed of change impacting all business hits marketing teams especially hard. To keep pace, even well staffed marketing teams must also recruit creative, experienced and highly technical partners to ensure they maintain a competitive edge over the competition. Whether these partners are technology platforms, blue sky engineers or consumer experience experts, having industry leaders focused on your marketing goals is essential for success.
All of business is now marketing and all of marketing now rests on technology. To make the most of these new seven P’s of Marketing, effective sales and marketing programs need new teams, process and partners. Not only to manage the tidal wave of change, but to win market share, unlock new growth and stand apart from the competition.
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