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Marketing in the Space-Age
Evolution is an inevitable force of nature and the only way to adapt to the changing circumstances. Humans themselves made the leap from apes in order to grow into well, you and me. Anything that fails to evolve, slowly dies out. The field of marketing similarly has gone through multiple stages of evolution. For marketing to remain relevant marketers have realized that the conversation has to be taken beyond simply trying to sell a product and highlighting its benefits. There are more products/services present in the marketplace today than ever before. Along with the fact that consumers today are extremely well informed, with limited time and attention at hand. And to complicate the situation further most consumers don’t like to be exposed to advertising in fact react negatively to it, after all we all know how we feel about YouTube ads disturbing our favorite songs, or the reason why we love Netflix.
Yes, it’s no surprise that the world has changed. We’re living in the Space Age today, where even the sky is not the limit. So, what does Marketing in the Space Age look like?
Let’s explore.
- Consumer/Customer Centric
Traditionally Marketing was aimed at proving that my product/service is the best, i.e. marketing was product centric. The focus was on the benefits, features and attributes of the product.
However today the approach adopted is to keep the customer at the center i.e. consumer centric marketing. Instead of bombarding the consumers with unsolicited information, marketers attempt to identify the needs and wants of the consumer. We are not selling to random people anymore, we are communicating relevant information to motivated customers. In depth understanding on consumer behavior and detailed consumer research are the foundation of Marketing today. Making the consumers life simpler and filing the said and unsaid gaps is the ultimate goal.
- Personalization and Co-creation
Gone are the times when marketing was only an outcome of the creativity of Mad Men. Marketing is ultimately aimed at creating value mutually, therefore in todays scenario co-creating with the help of the ultimate stakeholders that is the consumers allows marketers to get a fresh, better-informed and reliable perspective.
The attempt is to create experiences that consumers feel connected to and feel a part of. Today companies can leverage their social media platforms for this as well, from taking polls online to see consumer preference, to actually letting consumers create content via sending in their videos, pictures or even send in ideas.
One great example that combines personalization and co-creation can be the #ShareaCoke campaign by Coca Cola in 2014.
Where they replaced their brand name on Coca Cola cans with 250 most popular American names, consumers were drawn to pick cans with their names or names that they felt related too, and were encouraged to share their stories and experiences online, further increasing the popularity of the campaign. The #ShareaCoke was shared with approximately 500000 photographs, and the company gained around 25 million new followers on Facebook all within one year. People shared numerous personal experiences and stories which became the soul of the campaign resulting in big wins for Coca Cola.
This personalization and co-creation are not only restricted to marketing, and is even becoming a big part of product development and business management overall. Nike offering customizable shoes is another great example of a brand allowing customers to co-create a product that is personalized perfectly to their taste.
- Impacts internal culture
Traditionally marketing was viewed as a force with only external impact, however the paradigm shift of the space age is to combine the business, brand and behavior.
What a brand stands for is not only what is represented on billboards but trickles down to every employee irrespective of hierarchy and has to be manifested in company culture. For example, In the response to the Black Lives Matter movement multiple brands put out communication in support of the movement, however consumers were quick to point out the hypocrisy of companies which claimed Black Lives Matter and advocated for equal opportunity in their marketing communication, however had very little racial diversity to back their claims, and consumers have no tolerance for inauthentic brands. Therefore, the internal workings and culture of the organization needs to be in line with the marketing in branding to be perceived as trustworthy in today’s scenario.
- Quantifiable Results
What makes marketing initiatives different today is also the demands from them, with the presence of new methods of research, cut throat competition and tighter budgets, companies are laying high level of importance on results. After all corporates aren’t running campaigns for awards, therefore to be effective, marketing campaigns need to be able to show quantifiable benefits, results and outcomes. - Digital Marketing (plus influencer marketing/ viral trends/meme)
Undoubtedly one of the most monumental and impactful development of Marketing today is the advent of Digital Marketing. From Presidents and Prime ministers to pretty much every brand that exists, all of them have a social media presence. With E-commerce booming, especially propelled by the pandemic era Digital Marketing has become more important than ever. What makes digital marketing novel is that unlike traditional marketing which took a long time to plan and execute, digital efforts can be implemented way faster which allows companies to strike the iron when it’s hot. Moment marketing is getting more and more popular and is extremely effective.
Influencer and Viral Marketing have also been a disruptive force in Marketing, consumers are looking for influencers they can relate to better and have managed to build a substantial following. Additionally, engaging consumers through challenges and trends has also allowed them to feel more involved with the brand and creating online word of mouth and ripple effect for the marketing.
From a commercial point of view, the best part about Digital Marketing is the much lower cost in both content creation as well as communication, it doesn’t require expensive TV slots or big billboards costing millions.
However, to remain relevant in the digital space companies need to be consistent with their presence and the frequency of communication needs to be high. - Technology and Marketing
With the digital interactions going up, there is a vast pool of big data available to marketers. This is not simply restricted to social media, but there are tools to track consumer behavior on a website such as how much time do they spend on a page, or how is the online consumer journey, how consumers react to push ads and obviously apps of brands which are a personal haven for the consumer to connect with the brand. Additionally, we also have tools like geo tagging that gather real time data of the location of potential customers, which allows marketers to send relevant communication to consumers who are in a geographical location where they are more likely to be interested in a particular product. For example, imagine being in a shopping market all day and receiving a pop-up ad from a restaurant telling you they are 5 minutes away, now that sounds like a good deal, right? Magically getting restaurant information for a place close by, just when you needed it. It’s not a coincidence. Therefore, to be on top of the marketing game today one needs to be aware of the new technologies present to gather a gold mine of data and to utilize its potential in the best and most beneficial way possible.
The insight experts at Unisights Research and Analytics are equipped to offer end to end solutions to all the marketing and research needs of this dynamic space age. Through expertise in varied methods to acquire and analyze data, offer time and context relevant consultation services and uncover insights with not only huge corporate potential but also a strong human connection USRA ensures its clients are always at the top of the game. We also offer specialized Online Advertising and Marketing services where we take complete ownership of ensuring growth, through boosting user acquisition, connecting the dots between advertisers and publishers, or Networks/Affiliate based on your requirements. At USRA we curate specialized strategies that help is driving guaranteed results and foster organic brand building.
Our vision is to be a one stop solution for all your marketing needs. With our advanced data analytics techniques, solution-oriented approach and focus on ROI we go above and beyond to ensure that your ultimate goals are definitely accomplished.
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