Marketing in The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)

Unpredictability is a common denominator when discussing The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Five years ago, if we were to have a conversation on the future of technology, machine learning would not have been in my predictions. With the technology revolution introduced in the Third Industrial Revolution (3IR), flying cars were just about all that was in the agenda.

Information is at our disposal - the 4IR has fostered access to mounts of consumer created data, thus completely diminishing jobs centred on traditional marketing, To properly iterate: in a nutshell, traditional marketing emphasised push marketing efforts where the consumer had limited access on information. Today, push marketing is inadequate, as the influx of digital channels give access to multitudes of information thus giving power to the consumer. In fact, consumers increasingly use search engine platforms to either affirm or reaffirm their purchase process.

Content is essential. With the 4IR, people increasingly have access to digital platforms that allow them to share their own content (User Generated Content) thus completely disrupting the marketing process- all due to the fact that marketers are loosing their voices. Think about it, the more people have access to online platforms to learn and disseminate information, the more opinions there are floating around. Consider the infographic below; an internet minute has millions of active participants who hold the power to view and engage in content & information suitable only to them.

Image: World Economic Forum

If you are a marketer and are still sharing information that deliberately lets the customer know that you are advertising - guess what? People are scrolling past your content and moving on to more engaging posts that tell stories about experiences. Customer experience is an essential element of digital marketing as the challenge is to now define (to the extent accurate), your customer's perception when in contact with all of your brand touch points. It is about discovering the emotional aspect of your customer and then tweaking what you offer into a more individualistic approach. Once successful, a positive experience is generated, thereby inducing positive word of mouth (WOM).

So let's talk about WOM: how many times have you either frequented a bakery because you heard about their mouth-watering chocolate cake; or even have visited a hospital because of their life changing treatment and care? In the era of the 4IR, WOM is spread on predominantly digital platforms (e.g Blogs, Instagram and YouTube channels) and so marketing efforts are now customer centric. Marketers have to observe the behaviour of their consumers on digital platforms, note the experiences and then work towards enhancing these. Demographics are no longer effective, as in depth segmentation is key. People are increasingly weary about their values and beliefs; demographically segmenting using variables such as age & location is no longer a valid profile.

Customer Experience is the ultimate marketing tool at present as experience is a more memorable factor compared to words, or visual.

The late Dr. Maya Angelou once said: "people may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel".

Imagine giving out positive vibes to all your customers, either by offering a purely solution oriented product, giving a warm smile or even remembering their name and order as soon as they walk into your premises - this is indeed crucial in creating memorable experience that is positive. One must also note that negative experiences do exist, and they do warrant negative WOM. A single negative review is key to influencing the perception of 10 (or more) others.

In leveraging customer experience, it is necessary to take advantage of current trends that ease the digital interaction process. Tools such as chatbots, prosumer trends, and co-creation efforts fully enhance positive customer experiences to give individualistic solutions.

Lastly, it is extremely necessary to know your customers. Use the digital tools at hand to gain an understanding of your current clientele as well as potentials. Oftentimes putting yourself in the customers position will aid your marketing efforts.