By Thornton May
Futurist, Senior Advisor with GP, Executive Director & Dean - IT Leadership Academy

One P futurists make predictions. Two P futurists “precipitate preparations” [i.e., create awareness of future conditions requiring current period behavior change and investment]. Many One P futurists predicted that power in the enterprise [and power over budgets] would shift dramatically to Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Digital Officers. In the last two years the pendulum has swung away from turning the keys over to the marketing tribe. Whether this is because the marketing folk have made such a hash out of mobile and social investments I cannot say. As a Two P futurist I can safely attest that all C’s – whether they are in favor and have access to budget or not – are going to have to prepare for New-Think Marketing.

Old-Think Marketing typically started with the goal of selling more products to more people. Old-Think CMOs were all about demand generation – making the phone ring, generating web traffic and getting feet in the door. Old-Think Marketing created and placed ads [actually caused ads to be created and placed] and left operations, analytics, product and service design to other parts of the enterprise. Old-Think Marketing focused on the product, not the experience of learning about, buying, owning and using the product/service. Old-Think Marketing is a thing of the past.

A Post-Product World
David Roman, the CMO of Lenovo has a front row seat on changing consumer value patterns in the personal computer space. Modern PC customers were driven by the experience of buying and operating a computer versus the base functionality of that computer. Part of the total PC experience was discovered to involve figuring out how to keep all their different devices connected and integrated allowing hassle-free movement of data between devices.

Working from this insight Lenovo has focused on making the cross-device experience more seamless and intuitive so you can take a photo on your smartphone and then review it on your watch or your TV.

A Customer Centric World
The Internet gives companies the ability to engage one-on-one with consumers – an impossible opportunity a decade ago. James Keady, head of digital at Samsung understands modern marketing. “Customers expect a personalized, consistent experience across all brand touch points…. Personal, relevant experiences that build customer conversion and loyalty are now a critical factor for businesses to generate and sustain future profits.”

A Relationship – Not a Transaction
Anthony Sciuto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Nestlé Waters North America is eloquent when he explains, “Our scope is no longer just limited to demand generation; our mission should be building a holistic relationship with our consumers by leveraging all engagement opportunities across all available channels and touch points on their journey.”

Organizations now seek to be part of the “community” with their customers.

How is your organization re-thinking marketing?