Customer First Thinking

For all its flaws, social media has become the preferred way for people to stay connected with each other. Yet for too long marketers have failed to take it seriously. The time has come, says social media expert Andrew Jenkins, for marketers to give it the respect it deserves.

Brand tracking studies are a standard research tool for marketers who need to understand how people feel about their brand. The problem with them, according to brand health expert Jenni Romaniuk, is that they don’t tell marketers what they really need to know to grow their brand.

Content glut has suffocated the chances of discovery for most marketers. The only way for content marketing to succeed, according to renowned content strategist Robert Rose, is to transform content operations teams into specialized publishing units closely attuned to audience interests and needs.

Marketing today has grown far too complex for decisions to hinge on loose assumptions and guesswork. A more disciplined and fact-based approach is needed, supported by rigorous performance analysis, testing and forecasting, according to Koen Pauwels, one of the world’s leading marketing scientists.   

No one understands what marketing does anymore, least of all the CEO. For marketing to be seen as more of a difference maker, it must expand its role beyond branding, according to Accenture’s Brent Chaters, and earn a greater say in the strategic direction of the business.        

Marketers have long sought to discover the motivations that explain why people make the decisions and buying choices they do. The answer, according to Valuegraphics founder  David Allison, is their values. To make more meaningful connections with customers, marketers must first understand how they differ in their values.     

The best way for brands to stand out today is to offer a distinctive experience that earns them an everyday role in people’s lives. But that means knowing where the brand can make the greatest difference in the lives of customers, according to brand expert Allen Adamson.   

If businesses hope to survive the potentially lethal disruption ahead due to massive technological change, they need to accelerate their digital transformation. The first decision they must make, according to digital transformation expert Howard Tiersky, is to embrace the need for continuous transformative change.

 The top priority of CMOs is to grow top-line revenue. But the best way to achieve that growth is a matter of debate. Do you go after as many buyers as possible, or focus on winning the loyalty of existing customers? Wharton Professor Peter Fader says the answer lies in examining the behavioural patterns of current customers.    

Marketers have an opportunity to play a lead role in helping their organizations adapt to the massive wave of change expected in the years ahead. But first marketers will have to “future-proof” themselves, according to Alison Simpson, the new leader of the Canadian Marketing Association.