The pandemic has created a digital world, where organisations that were not already digitally enabled have had to quickly transform themselves. But for some, this meant easy-fix, band-aid solutions that didn’t offer true transformation.
As organisations continue to face rapid changes in today's marketing landscape, you need to be agile, flexible, and responsive to change. You must be prepared for the unique challenges that come with marketing transformation.
The Struggle is Real
But this is easier said than done: getting there naturally comes with a string of unique challenges since it involves changes in many aspects—from technology to operations—and a radical shift in thinking. You need to invest both time and money to embrace profound marketing transformation, and this means breaking away from systems that are familiar but may still work, but is not moving you forward. What if your culture is one that is resistant to change?
So what barriers to marketing transformation keep organisations up at night?
Getting the Culture Right
Marketing transformation demands aptitude and attitude from the people tasked to execute it. Beyond training or hiring people with the right sets of skills, it’s a culture that needs to be cultivated that embraces change within the organisation. However, this can be difficult to manage in order to keep the workforce motivated to keep up with the changing face of marketing.
The key is to focus on providing the right environment for growth and learning within the organisation, backed by a solid framework and understanding of your marketing transformation journey. You need to have your people on the same page at every step.
Making Sense of Data
Data is the currency of marketing. But. ironically, the onslaught of customer data leaves a lot of marketers clueless—many don’t know how best to convert the deluge of data into insights that can be turned into winning digital marketing strategies.
Current marketing technologies can help solve this issue. But then again, these technologies are only as good as the people who work with them. A strong overarching strategy and a real data-driven mindset against clear-set marketing objectives—whether it be for social media marketing, SEO or digital advertising—are what’s going to deliver results from this customer data.
Integrating and Opening Lines of Communication Between Teams
Transformation is something that happens organically. It won't succeed when teams only communicate at the eleventh hour. For instance, Marketing, Sales and Analytics teams must work collaboratively to come up with marketing campaigns that truly resonate with the customer, not pass on work to the other.
To break silos, you need to encourage a free flow of information across the organisation through whatever communication channels work best in your case. Access to information should also be made available to all teams.
Putting the Digital Customer First
Many marketers have problems with estimating their digital customers’ needs because they make the mistake of going with a technology-led approach when it should be the other way.
To succeed in marketing transformation, the customer must be the fulcrum of all thinking. This means looking at the customer journey as a whole, constantly looking at opportunities and gaps to deliver seamless, omnichannel and personalised experiences.
Start with a customer-first mindset. The technology can come next to help you uncover the actual indicators of those needs and how they can be met. Treat growing customer expectations as a chance to drive innovation within your organisation, even if it means breaking things that have previously worked, or making changes that might not always be popular among staff members or other stakeholders within an organisation. Only then can you meet your customers expectations, making it possible for true transformation to blossom.
Cultivating Brand Love and Trust
Customer attention spans are waning. They are spending less quality time engaging with brands. Worse, they’ve become increasingly discerning and demanding, such that one mistake can be taken as a betrayal of their trust. In this state of consumer disillusionment, how do you then nurture brand love?
It starts by being acutely aware of their sentiments, desires and motivations. Afterwards, you need to look at which of these reflect your brand values so you can position your brand genuinely and authentically. Anything less and your customers will immediately spot it, impeding your marketing transformation journey.
In today’s world, marketing transformation is a necessity to remain competitive and win in new markets. And once you embark on your own journey, remember that it’s an ongoing process that would thrive best by adopting a strategy that is flexible and reactive to customer needs, market disruption and the pulse of your organisation.
By doing so, you’ll effectively manage common pitfalls and navigate your way through the ever-evolving customer landscape and achieve long-term success.
At Construct Digital, we take marketing transformation seriously. If you’re feeling lost in your journey, we’re the digital transformation partner that can help you design a marketing transformation roadmap to help you get where you need to be. Talk to us today.
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