The impact of the Internet and digital technologies on marketing and sales has been profound. Conventional approaches based on direct advertising and individual transactions are proving ineffective in an environment in which the traditional power balance between the buyers and sellers of products and services has been overturned. New forms of marketing and selling have emerged, centered on understanding and building ongoing relationships with individual consumers and other buyers.
The key drivers of change in marketing and sales include an ongoing global increase in use of the Internet and social media; a recent rapid expansion in on-line shopping or eCommerce; the increasing use of mobile and other devices, and a major increase in the influence and power of the consumer resulting from the increase in online activity.
Organizations are responding to these drivers in various ways including the adoption of more analytical approaches to understanding customers and markets; increased emphasis on social media marketing, and a focus on developing trust-based relationships with individual customers. Content marketing and multi-channel or omni-channel marketing strategies are being increasingly used as means of staying competitive in the new environment, along with automation of marketing and sales.
The Art and Science of Transformation® framework has two key features which that are important for guiding organizational change and minimizing the risks involved in any change initiative, such adapting marketing and sales to the new digital environment: an emphasis on achieving the right combination of “art” and “science” in any change initiative, and a holistic approach which recognizes the inter-relationships between the organization’s people, culture, systems and processes.
One of the main features of new forms of online marketing and sales is the need to combine creativity and innovation with a technical, systematic and analytical approach – in other words, to combine art and science. Organizational systems such as the performance management system, competencies development system and the communications system must also be adjusted in order to promote new mindsets and reshape the corporate culture to support new approaches to marketing and sales.
How is Marketing and Sales Changing?
The impact of the Internet and digital technologies on marketing and sales has been profound. Conventional approaches based on direct advertising and individual transactions are proving ineffective in an environment in which the traditional power balance between the buyers and sellers of products and services has been overturned. New forms of marketing and selling have emerged, centered on understanding and building ongoing relationships with individual consumers and other buyers.
Key Drivers of Change in Marketing and Sales
Global Increase in Use of the Internet and Social Media: Worldwide, there has been a steady increase in Internet usage worldwide over the past decade, and the rapid development of digital technologies means that many consumers are continually connected to the Internet, via WiFi and mobile devices. One of the most popular uses is participation in social media.
Rapid Expansion in Online Shopping or eCommerce: Recent years have seen a rapid growth of eCommerce in both the B2B and B2C sectors. Increasingly, social media sites are playing a direct role in the expansion of online shopping; brand pages have proved an effective way for companies to connect with their customers and increase loyalty.
The Increasing Use of Mobile and Other Devices: There is a steady shift away from desktop computer and laptops to smart phones, tablets and other devices such as “wearables”, which consumers are increasingly using for the purpose of researching and purchasing products and services.
Major Increase in the Influence and Power of the Consumer: This partly results from the vast expansion of information about brands and products that is readily available to consumers online, and has also arisen because the Internet and social media sites make it easy for consumers to post and share information online about companies and brands.
Key Developments in Marketing and Sales
Analysis and Strategy: Many organizations now realize that marketing has a much greater strategic role to play than ever before; they also expect greater accountability and concrete evidence of value generated. To underpin this, firms are adopting more analytical approaches to marketing and sales, and garnering insights from “big data” and other online information.
Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing budgets are expanding, to support strategies with a wide range of objectives such as increased audience engagement, increased brand awareness and increased lead generation.
Customer Relationships and Advocacy: Success in marketing and sales now hinges on the ability to form trust-based relationships with customers using social media and other online communications. The most effective marketing about a brand is often that generated by its loyal customers or “brand advocates”.
Mobile and Multi-Channel Marketing: Firms must redesign their websites and refocus their marketing efforts to reflect the dominant use of mobile devices. Many are adopting “omnichannel” marketing strategies, to provide a seamless shopping experience.
Content Marketing: The most commonly used forms of content marketing are social media posts and online articles about a company’s products and services. Videos and image-based content are also increasingly in popularity.
Automation: By using an automated marketing platform, firms can easily segment customers, schedule emails, automate social media postings, manage content and track customers in the purchasing process.
The Art and Science of Transformation®
The Art and Science of Transformation® framework has two key features which that are important for guiding organizational change and minimizing the risks involved in any change initiative, such adapting marketing and sales to the new digital environment:
- An emphasis on achieving the right combination of “art” and “science” in any change initiative.
- A holistic approach which recognizes the inter-relationships between the organization’s people, culture, systems and processes.
In this framework, “science” is defined as the formal or systematic tools, techniques and methods that are important in any area of organizational activity and are often specific to that specialist area.
In contrast, the “art” consists of the more generic types of skills and expertise that are necessary for managing the people-related aspects of organizational activity and change, as well as the “soft” or more intangible skills often referred to by terms such as “acumen”.
The Importance of Combining Art and Science in Marketing and Sales
One of the main features of new forms of online marketing and sales is the need to combine creativity and innovation with a technical, systematic and analytical approach – in other words, to combine art and science.
Creativity and innovative approaches are essential for developing engaging and interesting content to capture the interest of consumers, for the graphic design of the visual marketing materials that are becoming so important, and for interacting effectively in personalized ways with individuals via social media channels.
On the other hand, technical and analytical skills and expertise are crucial for the development, integration and optimization of effective marketing and sales platforms, for use of analytics and big data to inform marketing and sales strategies and for systematic planning and management of marketing and sales strategies and initiatives, including risk identification and analysis.
Realigning the Organization for New Forms of Marketing and Sales
The inter-relationships between organizational components also mean that a holistic review of the organization’s skills, corporate culture, systems and processes is essential when implementing any major new strategy or initiative, such as social media marketing or an expansion into eCommerce.
In particular, it is important to understand how key organizational systems are shaped by, and in turn reinforce, the corporate culture, necessitating the realignment of these with the desired objectives of the change initiative so that they don’t hinder its adoption.
Traditional approaches to marketing and sales were largely transactional in nature, focused on increasing numbers of leads and sales as quickly as possibly rather than developing long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty.
Adopting a new focus on relationship building and the development of a trusted brand status is one of the most challenging aspects of implementing the types of new approaches to marketing and sales discussed in this paper. This requires employees and managers throughout the organization to develop new mind-sets and new ways of interacting with customers.
Organizational systems such as the performance management system, competencies development system and the communications system play an important role in shaping organizational culture, through the ways they promote, reward or reinforce cultural norms and employee behaviours. When implementing any transformation initiative such as a new approach to marketing and sales, it is essential to review and make necessary changes to these systems so that they help drive the desired changes rather than hindering them.