It’s common to hear the phrase “Marketing has not changed – only the tools are different.” Are you sure?
Chances are, you are using technology right now – listening to music on Spotify, watching movies on Netflix, buying stuff on Amazon, deriving knowledge from Wikipedia, maintaining relationships on Facebook, looking for advice on Google, and reading books on your Kindle.
Some systems track your every move on the Internet, learn your behavior and are able to distinguish when you use your computer and when someone else in your family does. Sometimes you clean your computer of cookies or just reinstall the operating system with the conviction that from now on you are „new,” but the system has long been taught something else and recognizes you in a few days. Your story is not going away. The system knows when you look at the TV and when you’re on a mobile device. It checks what you do and don’t react to. You know if you are going to buy a house, car, TV or even if you are pregnant, even though it’s just you…and the system.
Other systems try to learn your preferences regarding how you ask for things, what movie you want to see, what music you listen to. And they do it without asking whether you want to be a part of this fun.
The fact is, technology discovers hidden truths.
Therefore, the next machines and algorithms using neuromarketing will be able to check whether you really like something or not, finding out what turns you on and what you think is disgusting. All you need to is to give your consent and be willing to participate in such studies, but soon improvements such as a camera manufactured by Intel that recognizes emotions will help diagnose your current response to the messages.
Technology has changed business – and us.
We (the customers) have also gained an advantage. We exchange knowledge, opinions and experiences. We can tell our friends about great or awful restaurants and hotels, whether the service was great or hopeless – all in real time. Where once only a vendor was able to give us information, we can now find out for ourselves. At this point, we just know what we want. That’s why marketing is getting closer to the seller and the role of sellers is becoming more and more marginal. Hence the slow and reluctant trend in which marketers are learning to be responsible for sales, and sellers are learning to cooperate with marketing.
Technology has also influenced marketers.
Today, consumers comment not only on products but also on their experience with the brand. Therefore, marketers must be programmed for experience with the brand. They must take responsibility for design, telephone service, customer service and other ways of connecting the company with the outside world.
Do fish use water?
We swim in the digital world. Soon we will all deep-sea divers and there will be only a few left on the surface. We do not use technology? It would be the same to say that fish do not use water. This brings us to a vital question: Is it possible to build a brand without being a tech expert?
Can we really market only based on intuition supported by traditional research and the generation of strategies and messages? We would then have to say “Let the others take care of the rest! I already did their job and the ad speaks for itself!”
In such a world the modern marketer is one who knows how to use social-media to build a message. But will that be enough in a world where communication is everything? Where CX is just as important as the myth-creating advertising message? Judge for yourself.
In my opinion, it is not enough. Marketing has changed dramatically and this change is widening. And I believe that it’s the best thing that could happen. In the end, we have a chance to take real responsibility and have a real impact on what’s happening around us. I like this!