The world of marketing today may seem like a chaotic and ever-changing world. If you look at the evolution of consumer behaviors, technological advances and emerging brands coming to market, it certainly leans towards this paranoia of marketing slipping fro our grips. The complexity of the marketplace may be evolving, but the idea of marketing hasn’t changed for decades. As Theodore Levitt said in Marketing Myopia, “the role of a business is the ability to create and keep a customer.” That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. If you can create a customer through a phone call and keep them through quarterly emails, you are a marketing genius.

However, we get caught up in the tactics and new widgets that we can brag about later on, without the real understanding of whether or not we are in fact, creating or keeping a customer. Sure, new channels, integrated customer experiences and engaging content and messing play a role in this goal, we need to make sure we are using these tactics in the right way for our brand and our consumers.

Here are some quick thought starters to keep in mind as you’re laying out your 2019 marketing strategy.

Perception
Notice that Levitt didn’t end at creating customers, but really emphasizes the keeping of those customers. As we’ve illustrated before, the more savvy marketers of emerging brands, they focus on the keeping more than the acquisition. This creates a business model and case that shows how we can grow more organically, consistently and authentically than simply advertising to force a new customer, rather than earning one. 

Consumer Needs and Understanding
The ability to continue to meet and exceed customer expectations is a crucial aspect in this world of experience as a purchase decision driver. The companies that are focused on reducing friction and driving to simplicity are the ones that succeed in this complex and overly communicated world. By either reducing pain points in the shopping or buying process or redirecting consumer expectations, brands can continue to understand and fulfill the consumer needs. 

Personalization
As consumers are becoming more connected to others, brands and organizations across many different platforms, the expectation of personalized information and content continues to rise. Using the right data and interactions in the right way, gives brands the opportunity to reflect personalized understanding in their messaging and experience. 

Channels
Whether you’re planning your retail mix, communications strategy or service design, the channels you use to reach your goals will play a crucial role in your marketing success. If you have the best advertising in the world then pass your customers to a poor website or physical retail experience, you’ve lost your credibility as a brand and probably a sale. Not only do our channels have to connect to one another, but each interaction has to fulfill our brand’s promise.

Content & Messaging
Even with the evolution of technology and the complexity of our channel environment, the right message at the right time is still the most important aspect of our marketing strategy. Without the right message, our tech stack, personalization and channel efforts are useless. The message needs to be relevant, contextual and based on behavior. It needs to be simple and engaging. And it needs to deliver the emotional response to take action. Don’t get caught up in new shiny technology and forget about the content and messaging. 

The idea of marketing hasn’t changed since Levitt poignantly penned his Marketing Myopia in 1975; our only goal is to create and keep a customer. That has never and will never change. However, the way we do this will. 

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