For some time now experts have been announcing a marketing revolution, especially in digital marketing. But what will this revolution be like? What are the marketing concepts of the future? We explore the principles of the new digital marketing through 8 quotes from experts.
On this blog we have been announcing the technology-driven marketing revolution for some time now. Actually, we are not the ones calling it. Experts have been warning for some time that technological advances and the new social models emerging will completely transform the way we do and understand marketing in the coming years. Especially digital marketing as it is more directly tied to technology.
Many experts are already talking about the marketing of the future, the new marketing or announcing important changes in the sector. It seems that discussing marketing intelligence, data-driven marketing, email marketing or marketing automation is no longer news. However, sometimes theory and practice do not go hand in hand, and despite the fact that the martech sector is moving at a frantic pace, companies are not keeping pace with it. This can be seen in the latest report on marketing biggest challenges in 2021.
What should we expect from marketing in the coming years, where are we going and where will technology take us?
We try to answer these questions through 8 marketing quotes from experts.
8 marketing quotes that talk about the new marketing
1. "The power has shifted to the customer and it's not coming back" - Geoffrey Moore
This, in just a few words, is how Geoffrey Moore, author of the book Crossing the Chasm, explains customers' new role. The customer-centric perspective, based on putting the customer at the centre of all business decisions, has not come about by chance. For quite some time now, consumers have stopped being simply consumers to become key players in the business process. Companies no longer hold all the power. Now, customers' decisions matter as much, if not more, than those of business executives.
In marketing, this is manifested in personalisation and in organisations' efforts to launch increasingly personalised and tailored campaigns, as well as in the new, much more direct and bidirectional ways of communicating with customers, audiences and, basically, people.
2. "Customers come and go, but enemies accumulate." - Henry DeVries
Henry DeVries, CEO and co-founder of Indie Books International and president of the New Client Marketing Institute, opens his Forbes article on digital marketing with this exact quote. Quite a statement.
According to the customer-oriented marketing expert, during the pandemic many companies have done a very poor job in managing customer expectations. He gives the example of airlines that have caused numerous scandals by cancelling and changing flights without warning or rewarding affected customers in any way.
Through a concise, but piercing observation, Henry DeVries exemplifies the significance of an unhappy customer. Clearly, very few customers last forever. However, a customer who is dissatisfied with the service or customer experience provided is a customer we have lost forever. Moreover, customer's expectations are constantly growing and today's clients are no longer willing to put up with bad experiences. If you look after them, they are likely to stay. If you don't look after them, they're sure to leave.
3. "False commitment can ruin your reputation forever." - Anuj Jasani
Following on with a quote from Anuj Jasani, investor and CEO of JustBrandable and BudgetOK, we arrive at a principle that should be part of marketing values from the very beginnings of marketing: Commitment towards customers must be real. If it's faked, it won't do you any good.
This quote from Jasani is still a lesson for some companies. As we explained in the article "Marketing for Millennials: How to Satisfy the Customer of the Future?", millennials, who will represent 44% of the workforce by 2025, are the social group that most values honesty yet. Younger audiences decide whether to invest their time and money in a brand based on the brand's values more than any other group of people in history. And we're not talking about the values you list on your website. Millennials do a lot more research, learning and fact-checking than their predecessors.
They are also the most demanding public when it comes to transparency and the ones who trust advertising the less. In this sense, brands must adapt to a more honest, more direct and more conscious marketing..
4. "Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell." - Seth Godin
In line with the previous point, we return to the customer-centric perspective as opposed to traditional advertising with Seth Godin, author of several bestsellers.
Marketing is no longer about explaining how good we are, the things we do and how much we sell. In other words, distributing advertising content based on a business-centric perspective no longer works. Customers now want you to tell them how what you do affects them, how it has helped other people, what your business brings to the table, and so on.
Increasingly, marketing is moving away from talking about companies and going towards talking about the customers.
5. "Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue." -Andrew Davis
This is how Andrew Davis, a bestselling marketing author, explains an undeniable fact: now customers are only interested in content that brings them value. Thus, marketing will gradually move away from advertising and towards generating value for existing and potential customers.
Today, valuable content is the path to higher profits. Content is what creates connections, and connections builds lasting relationships and, ultimately, revenue.
The generation of valuable content as the new method to attract, convert and retain customers is the main foundation of Inbound Marketing.
6. "One of the best ways to sabotage your content is to not tie it to your goals. Know why you’re creating content." - Ellen Gomes
Content marketing is definitely on the rise. Despite the fact that there are many companies already committing to Inbound Marketing, many of them are struggling because they generate content without a well-defined strategy that supports it.
Ellen Gomes, senior director of content marketing at Marketo, claims that content marketing is not about creating content for the sake of it. Each piece of content must respond to a specific objective. If we create content without a business objective in mind, we will simply not achieve our objectives.
7. "90% trust peers on social networks (even strangers); only 15–18% trust brands." - Danny Brown
With this powerful statement, Danny Brown, award-winning marketer and author, showcases the power and impact of social media. Social media is already a bigger driving force and a more powerful marketing medium than your own website. To continue to ignore it is simply a blunder.
8. "Those organizations and individuals that can evolve and take advantage of where we are today are going to rise to the top and everybody else is going to be left by the side." - Linda Popky
We end with this quote from Linda Popky, marketing consultant at Leverage2Market and author of the book "Marketing Above the Noise".
The new era of marketing is an opportunity for companies that want to take advantage of it. Recent technological advances such as the Customer Data Platform (CDP) make customer intelligence, the implementation of effective and innovative customer strategies and data-driven transformation much easier. As Linda says, organisations that choose to ignore transformation will be left out.
Not sure how to face the new marketing era that is just around the corner? At Kale we are experts in customer strategies and data-driven business transformation. We can help you!
