The modern landscape of buying and selling goods, services, events, experiences, and more is evolving at a rapid pace. In the past decade alone, we have witnessed the rise of new technologies to research and purchase things quickly, easily, and from nearly any location. At the same time, some traditional means of gaining product information and buying have declined or gone extinct.
As a society, we have moved swiftly away from print catalogs, mail order, infomercials, telemarketing, billboards, and brick and mortar shopping as the sole or main means of interactions between customers and businesses. While many of these marketing and shopping means still exist, e-commerce has largely changed the means and expectations of buying and selling.
Customers can now purchase items online and have them delivered within an hour or two. This is a huge leap from the “6 to 8 weeks for delivery” expectations. Beyond this, customers are empowered now more than ever before to be able to research and compare before making purchases.
To keep up with this new era, marketing efforts must evolve to a more customer-centric focus. This may include things like item or service personalization, social media interaction, location-based advertising, and highly accessible customer service.
Marketing also has needs within a company, and not just with the customer. Clear communication between departments must occur to properly implement marketing and branding efforts. This may include working with finance departments on marketing budgets and outcomes, training employees to be skilled brand ambassadors, or presenting CEOs with data on customers and marketing campaigns.
The availability of vast amounts of data also contributes to the need to utilize new marketing strategies. Data is highly available and nearly instantaneous, allowing real-time analysis of the customer journey. This means that marketing strategies can be optimized in an ongoing fashion, as opposed to a fully pre-planned way.
This ever-changing marketing landscape is exciting in its new technologies and means to connect with customers. However, marketers must now stay up-to-date with customer expectations and be innovative in fulfilling needs.