Marketing leaders are constantly changing the rules of their game in the ongoing digital age. Long lead times have been replaced by real-time tracking of business intelligence. Innovation is no longer about the big bets, but about constant experimentation. Targeting to the mass market has evolved to a personalized model of digital marketing. The timeframe available has been clamped down from a high of thirty seconds to a mere three. While earlier, the payments to marketing or advertising agencies were based around exposure, now they are for the final performance. The best of marketing leaders focus-first on the customer requirements and own the entire digital journey of the target audience. The learn along the way and improvise the process accordingly. Collaborative work has gained credence in their eyes to ensure smarter operations. To start the entire process from scratch, a specific customer segment needs to be identified, followed by an experimental hypothesis and concluding with an improvisation.

Source:http://www.bain.com/infographics/marketing-leaders/

Uploaded Date:23 February 2018

Marketing has probably changed more in the last decade than it did in the previous three. Yet, marketers of the 1980s would not feel out of place today, as the terminologies being used, job titles and even metrics to measure performances, eerily similar. The methodologies of working remain similar with large dependence on agents to buy out ad space and infrequent advertisements being doled out. That is why few organizations are being able to take full advantage of the digital marketing opportunities now around. A study conducted by McKinsey acknowledged this fact by stating that the high performers tended to do better in business analytics and their usage of data. Orchestrating the market ecosystem involves managing partnerships both internal as well as external to the organization. Brand tribes need to be built so that global campaigns may be designed and local teams can execute them on the ground. New ventures need to be nurtured time and again as L’Oréal has been doing. Agile work ways need to be applied en scale. For this the operating model needs to be agile too. Plus, a stable company structure needs to be in place to execute routine, essential functions. Marketing capabilities need to be adapted for the changing scenario which involves analytics and data crunching. The user experience needs to be smooth and content publishing timely.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/building-a-marketing-organization-that-drives-growth-today

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018

A latest book written by the Heaths- Chip and Dan- titled The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments have Extraordinary Impact,the writers speak about defining moments in business that characterize relationships. They start off by pondering loudly whether companies would be better advised to chase those customers who have provided very poor feedback in the first place, or those who lie in the middle so can be improved upon. To this extent they quote a marketing research assignment carried out by Forrester, that says that most companies would do better to follow the latter strategy rather than the former. Most positive relationships between customers and service providers arise out of four crucial elements. Those are- elevation, pride, connection and insight. The success of customer experiences to a large extent depends on more of these elements being present. Sometimes one can improvise to cater to more elements as done during the evolution of the MRI system. Southwest Airlines is another example where an unintended error by a flight attendant was picked up as a marketing ploy. The business analytics team suggested that the quip be used to make the trips more fun for travelers and this resulted in an upward swing to the tune of US$ 140 million.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Creating-Defining-Moments-for-Your-Customers?gko=d025f

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018

When things go wrong, service-oriented companies tend to start with apologies. This is the first rule, but sometimes it can even backfire. A study conducted by a team from Case Western Reserve found more than a hundred recorded videos from US and UK airports to assess troubleshooting incidents. The customer reps trying to solve the issue were broadly divided into “relational” and “problem-solving”. The former were being empathetic and trying to develop some personal relations, with the latter trying to find solutions. The latter seem to be more effective, as in the case of relational reps, customers tend to get angrier at the lack of solutions afforded. So, companies are increasingly altering their talent recruitment patterns to employ “controller” type reps who are outspoken and command the situation. This study has found much popularity among restaurant, travel and hotel based companies as they are all service-oriented and grappling with disparate logistical conditions that can often go wrong.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/01/sorry-is-not-enough?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:09 January 2018