Why your marketing strategy won't last 12 months
As I sit in the hub of innovation at Atlanta Technology Village, I am amazed at just how many companies here are working on the next big thing.
They are not just revamping what exists already, but revolutionizing the way in which technology is used and powered to bring change. There isn't a developer here that hasn't caught on to something big, but perhaps, for some it won't happen because they are bringing the wrong product out at the wrong time, or they simply do not know how to market it.
December is upon us and in the marketing world, its a big month for writing marketing strategies for 2014. As we conduct one workshop after another, it amazes me at how out-of-touch people really are through no fault of their own.
At Marketing Eye, we work tirelessly on keeping our top marketers up-to-date with the latest in marketing, yet they still stay behind because there is always someone out there bringing out a new solution or new way in which to market, that may catch on and be the next big thing.
Marketing automation has been around for a few years, but it is not done and dusted. Instead, marketing automation is evolving and transforming the way in which we conduct marketing and process our prospects and clients into a more advanced customer relationship program. What is missing though is the biggest influencer in marketing today - and that's social media.
While marketing automation tells us what we should do and when, it doesn't deliver a one-to-one marketing platform quite like it professes to do so. Companies are still shy of collaborating all marketing technologies into one single voice to customers and prospects that give an experience that is unsurpassed in past marketing efforts.
Why your marketing strategy won't last 12 months
It's simple as to why your marketing strategy won't last 12 months and its right here on our doorstep. While we make every effort to capitalize on a company's business strategy and underpin it with tactical marketing efforts that deliver upon this strategy, the reality is that we don't know what is around the corner. We don't know what is coming out in January, February, March or December for that matter - and we won't know until it falls in our laps either through the media or by chance.
If a technology developer brings to me a new solution and I am the first person to see it - and I verify that it works and will change the marketing paradigm, than only I have that solution, and the millions of other marketing plans out there have not taken this into account and may become obsolete before our very eyes.
Some say early adopters are foolish, yet if you said that to the people who registered business domain names or Twitter accounts in the names of the big brands, than you will see that an early adopter is the person that is most able to capitalize and leverage off what is new and innovative.
Technology isn't the only factor associated with changes in marketing strategy. The volatile business environment and government influence often cheats people out of fulfilling their business strategies creating forced change and a poignant u-turn.
When I write a marketing strategy, I am a believer in the blueprint that has been delivered, yet today as we address the marketing needs of SMB's, I spend more time informing our clients that this is a blueprint but "please do not put in stone" because the reality is - things may change.
I don't want to cast a shadow over my team and other marketers, but a more nimble approach and set of objectives is the only way to operate in 2014, and a constant mirroring of other case studies and technologies that transcend our modern era into the unknown world of customer connection is necessary to save companies from failures or falling behind the eight ball.
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Josia Nakash
27 Nov 2013So true Melissah - we are living in a very dynamic world now where the real innovation will be the content that comes with whatever you are selling.
ReplyThe up side of that is that it's not costly or complicating to make changes there compared to technological changes. The down side is that people don't realize yet that it's time for big changes, significant changes that will impact every area of our lives.
Marketing executives need to focus on the big picture in 2014 - the things that tie us all together here. The things that will make us truly happy.