Reprint: R1407C
Though social and digital media are rapidly transforming marketing and new tools emerge daily, in most firms the organization of the function hasn’t changed in 40 years. How should marketers revamp their strategies, structures, and capabilities to meet the new realities? To find out, the consultancy EffectiveBrands and its partners conducted a study involving 10,000 marketers from 92 countries, which examined what separated high-performing marketers from the pack.
High performers, the study showed, excelled in three areas: integrating data about what customers are doing with an understanding of why they are doing it; communicating a brand purpose (the functional, emotional, and societal benefits of the offering); and delivering a “total experience” to customers. To provide this kind of experience, high performers break down silos and enlist the help of the entire organization. That means they must link marketing strategy tightly to business strategy and to other functions; inspire employees across the company with the brand’s purpose; focus and align around a few key priorities; set up nimble, cross-functional teams; and build internal capabilities through extensive training at all levels.
Surprisingly, few companies have been able to put all these pieces together. Only half of even high-performing organizations excel on some of these capabilities. But that shouldn’t be discouraging; rather, it just illuminates where there’s work to do.
In the past decade, what marketers do to engage customers has changed almost beyond recognition. With the possible exception of information technology, we can’t think of another discipline that has evolved so quickly. Tools and strategies that were cutting-edge just a few years ago are fast becoming obsolete, and new approaches are appearing every day.
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