The Next Five Years in Marketing:
How not to be taken by surprise (much)

MediaCom

A SUMMARY - MARKETING IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

As marketing professionals, we all understand how the economic slowdown has affected budgets, forcing many of us to rein back spending and focus on short-term, highly accountable communications solutions.

In 2009, we saw procurement-driven pitches focus solely on cheaper headline costs for media rates and media advice. Cost was the key consideration and has continued to be the case in 2010.

Over the next five years, while cost will continue to be a factor in a low growth, low inflation world, smart marketers will also need to pay attention to a number of other factors.

These include the development of the new markets in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as well as new media – particularly video – which will remain high on the agenda.

At the same time, companies will continue to develop the way they track consumer behaviour and attitudes. New techniques will include buzz monitoring of sentiment on blogs and forums and online surveys that deliver live or as-live feedback. These will enable faster responses and rapid business/product change.

And much of this feedback is now two-way with consumers being asked for more detail. Blog that Bose headphones aren’t any good, for example, and the marketing department will get in touch to ask how they could be better.

Equally, the power of consumer data – both transactions and loyalty cards – has been recognised, extending beyond initiatives such as Tesco’s successful Clubcard scheme to become a front of house skill that enables massive improvements in targeting, segmentation and business performance.

Successful marketers in the next five years will be those who are precise about what they want to achieve with each and every communication. They will have to find a way to access talent, balance short-term accountability against long-term brand health and create the right mix of new and traditional messaging.

Through a deep understanding of what consumers want and need, they will be able to develop compelling propositions that deliver business growth.

Read The Next Five Years in Marketing. (pdf, 258 kb)