Digital Marketing

When I look at what Marketers were doing 15 years ago and what they’re doing now, it feels like a 1,000 years have passed before our eyes. The techniques and more importantly the tools available have now surpassed our wildest dreams and imaginations. The pace for change is increasing every year and marketing leaders are required to prove and quantify the value of their marketing efforts both online and off-line.

Marketing often finds itself as either the black sheep or the indispensable function of a given organization. Digital Marketing has transformed the way marketing programs are executed and the ability to track results and overall impact on an organization. The growth of mobile devices and communication platforms has also increased the reach marketers have to better target their audiences and understand their behaviors in real-time. Generating leads is not about trying a thousand different techniques on multiple personas but becoming an art of leveraging technology to better harness the power given to customers over the years through Social Media. Customers now control organizations’ brands and therefore building ongoing loyalty is paramount. Foolish are companies that still believe they’re in control and continue to ignore the “voice of the customer”.

The digital marketer is adapting in the face of technology and constant arrival of new tools. Things like real time personalization and native advertising are transforming the way marketers are reaching their audiences and the level of automation needed to do so. In one hand marketers are forced to develop better and more engaging/personal content but also compelled to gain scale by automating the various means of communications to prospects and customers. Automation uses logic, algorithms and mathematical interpretations of factors like buying decisions or lead scoring on another level.

Personalization, loyalty and brand advocacy are constant themes keeping the modern marketer up at night. Marketers have to become smarter and smarter to leverage information garnered from their audiences to deliver relevant paid advertising and content. It all comes back to data and being able to measure every aspect of the funnel the better understand intent. Digital marketers need to mitigate media costs, the competitive landscape and data to drive measurable business results. Driving results is key but keeping customers and prospects happy with the least amount of frustrations is equally important. There is nothing worse than bombarding folks with unsolicited emails, annoying advertising or irrelevant content which will eventually lead to negative and outspoken comments on Social Media. The modern marketer is faced with the huge dilemma driving results at the lowest costs possible while bringing positive brand experiences to its audiences.

Digital marketers have more responsibilities now than they ever have had in the past. Technology provides more than ever before to help them “drive the business”. They are also looking to build long and last relationships with their prospects and clients which requires patience and diligence. I am looking forward to seeing how technology and more automation within the marketing world will continue affecting and more importantly transforming the role of the modern marketer in the future.