Zoom out: Focus where it matters to build a better marketing function
We’re told things are moving faster than ever. That we need to adapt quickly, keep up with a monumental rate of change.
Recent events make us feel we’ve been forced to adapt at breakneck speed.
Add to that dramatic spikes and troughs in demand making visibility a nightmare, the mass adoption of digital channels fragmenting audiences into a myriad different subgroups, global supply chain challenges disrupting even the most carefully manicured customer experiences, and an inflationary environment clamping down spending habits across the board.?
It’s no wonder marketers are feeling the pressure.
We see today's consumers as increasingly digital-savvy, who expect a seamless, personalised experience across all touchpoints.
To meet these expectations, businesses are urged to adopt digital tools, rethink their entire customer journey, and develop new ways of engaging with their customers.
To meet this thinking, new technologies are bursting forth from a rejuvenated tech sector, adding another layer of complexity in navigating where to best deploy shrinking budgets.
Marketers are feeling the brunt of this surge and now must work out the gimmicks from the gold standard.
Marketers know keeping on top of trends, understanding tech and improving digital literacy are the keys to a long and healthy career in the modern corporate world. One which hopefully ends up in the C-Suite.
How do you stay on top of it all, when things are moving faster than ever?
Are things actually moving that fast??
It’s undeniable the world is changing. However, the rate of change is not accelerating. There are certainly a number of companies which are growing exponentially – WhatsApp, Uber, Alibaba and the GenerationalAI crowd - but the external drivers of that change are not themselves exponential.
The only constant is change.
The feeling that we are being carried along by an uncontrollable current of change is not unique to modern times.
Chris McKenna from the University of Oxford’s Sa?d Business School says we’ve been here before. “They said that change was accelerating in 1900. They said it in 1920. In 1940, in 1960, in 1980 and in 2000. So the presumption is that the people who said it before were wrong, but we’re right now. What we’re doing, is that we’re fetishising the second derivative. We’re preoccupied with the rate of change.”
But they didn’t go through what we went through, right?
History aside, digital transformation efforts did move at a frenetic pace over the past two years but are showing signs of slowing. Many say we’re back to where we would have been anyway, had the pandemic never happened.
Aspirations aren’t necessarily aligned with capabilities.
While leaders may be demanding the delivery of data-fuelled transformation, many companies are constrained by incumbent systems and data silos. Legacy technology and data integration are two roadblocks which have put the brakes on grand plans.?
No point in adding a bionic arm if it doesn’t sync with the beating heart of your business.
There are obvious benefits to getting in front of competitors. Getting it right provides a first-mover advantage, but there is also great benefit in having proof and understanding about new concepts before launching in, feet first. As well as hindsight.
Digital unwinding
Many have learnt their lessons on trying to adapt too quickly.
It’s not hard to find an organisation who have experienced a high degree of regret on their tech purchases made in the past two years.
Last year a Gartner survey found the majority of tech purchases came with a high degree of regret. The rush to adoption, it seems, was ill advised.
But we have to invest somewhere. We have to try bold ideas, be brave with our creative and take measured risks to build the attention we need to capture new buyers and generate sales.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Tech entrepreneur Jessica Wilson put it best.
“The blockchain/Web3 industry is FULL of experts who love to say on a panel, ‘You will be sold once you understand the technology’ or 'Once you understand how it all works you will ‘get it’!”?
“The issue is, the consumer shouldn’t have to.”
That’s you. You’re the consumer of this vendor’s technology.?
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Wilson goes on. “What we do at Women Making Waves is we don’t talk about the potential technical ability - we just use the tech. We use the tech in a way which is simple, sophisticated and makes sense to our consumers. We then educate our community and networks on the jargon term after the fact. After they have already engaged with it.”
This is the key for marketers trying to make sense of a convoluted and complex digital landscape.?
There's obvious benefit in knowing how the sausage is made, so you don't have the wool pulled over your eyes.?
The more important focus for marketers to justify investment and build a business case a board will support is to understand how the solution can fit into the overall objectives.
Whatever the shiniest new thing is, rather than trying to decipher *what* the technology is, instead focus on its use cases. Look at the challenges in your business and how this might help address them.
Marketers are getting too caught in the weeds in trying to understand how tech works, rather than the role of tech to serve a strategic vision. When you’re trying to solve from A-F, it’s enough to know the details to get from A-C.
Love or loathe Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, but he knows a thing or two about planning for and adapting to change.?
“I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’"
"And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time”
What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?
Break it down
So how does the tech complement your winning formula?
If the tech clears the first hurdle and presents piques enough interest to warrant further investigation, the framework from veteran tech exec Sanjay Macwan can help unpack a case for investment.
Macwan advises to ask:
The technology and the business model also need to be mature enough to warrant the investment. Blockchain might change the world, but are there clear monetisation strategies and benefits which clear the above hurdles?
How does the tech complement your winning formula?
While knowing how the tech works is great for self education, ultimately it comes down to one thing. What do you want to be - the leader or the doer?
Sage advice recommends not becoming good at something you don’t want to become your future. There are plenty of tech vendors and experts out there.
The value is in flexing your strategic marketing brain to drive real outcomes in the business.
It also allows marketers to not be spread too thin. Focus on what you want to be great at.
You can deep dive into the finer points of blockchain execution if it’s what gets you excited.?
Just don’t feel you need to as a means to understand the next wave of digital innovation.?
Technology is never about what it is, or how it works. It's only ever about the problems it solves and the opportunities it creates, which largely come down to where you apply it.
Wilson sums it up best.
“Start to look at Web3 strategies and emerging technologies as new ways to engage your customer base or develop a new one. It doesn’t have to be all exhaustive technical discussions - don’t get caught up in the jargon, it needs to add value and meet your audience where they are from a user experience perspective - that’s it.”
Know you need to zoom out but not sure where to start? Or trying to decipher if a tech integration serves your higher purpose? Email us [email protected] for a free audit and we'll help you better understand the moves which will attract, convince and convert your customers.
Entrepreneur. Co-founder Women Making Waves.
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