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In these changing times, global marketing managers are looking for ways to address uncertainty and build customer loyalty. Here we look at how marketing organizations are tweaking their operations to better understand their market and respond quickly to changing customer needs.

1: Efficient marketing is vital

Marketing has often been hampered over the years by cumbersome manual processes, a lack of transparency across the company, and multiple versions of the truth. These shortcomings plagued organizations during the Covid crisis.

In fact, a quarter of respondents in the recent BrandMaker Pulse survey rated their marketing effectiveness as an F, indicating over-reliance on spreadsheets, poor collaboration and workflow tools, and difficulty accessing and sharing content, budget and project status. Only 10 percent of those surveyed gave their marketing efficiency an A.

The last 12 months have highlighted the need for a new age of efficient marketing and marketing that is better aligned with business strategy. The ability to efficiently and effectively execute a strategic marketing plan is key to better understanding customers and meeting their needs. Marketing operating systems and technologies are critical to this effort as they move everyone in the company in the same direction and allow marketing teams to respond to new challenges and opportunities.

Because of this, 75 percent of companies plan to spend more on marketing operational efficiency this year, as these investments are critical.

2: Marketers who prioritize financial control

More than ever, CMOs need to show value to CEOs and CFOs because in every crisis, CMOs are known to be the first to see their budgets cut. In fact, only 5 percent of our survey participants expect their budget to increase this year over the previous year.

The problem is, CMOs can only demonstrate value when their marketing department is in good shape – when they have hard facts to map the results of their marketing efforts to real organizational goals. But that’s easier said than done. Marketing departments need to step up and get their house in order before they can prove their worth.

And this is where marketing activities come into play. MarketingOps is vital to the day-to-day functioning of marketing departments as it gives them the ability to perform key tasks like measuring, analyzing and reporting marketing efforts while continuously optimizing activities and improving ROI.

3: Empowering the human connection consumers crave

For example, let’s say you’re thinking about how digital marketing typically works. In this case, many organizations try

Manually managing data and digital communication – with analog tools in the digital age. That leaves no one time to devote serious time and thoughts to creative and strategic thinking. We’re at the point where the wheels are turning and turning, but the car is not moving forward.

It is foolish to believe that with 20th century analog thinking, we will regain control of our digital marketing world. Our “little thinking” has brought us to where we are now – behind our work, out of contact, out of control, frustrated and exhausted.

I call that mechanical marketing. When people demand more from companies, marketers need to reintroduce the human element into marketing to reclaim the creative spark. Innovative organizations can add this authentic human element by transforming their marketing activities.

4: Marketers strengthen customer loyalty through relevant content

Remote work, even in a post-pandemic era, is likely to stay here. Many employees will continue to work from home instead of returning to the office, even if it is safe to do so. This changes the game for marketing departments as their target customers have more time to consume marketing content when they are no longer dealing with one- and two-hour commutes. And in all honesty, they’ll be overwhelmed by all of the ads and marketing messages they see when they spend more time online and connected to their devices.

This means marketers need to do better. With consumer fatigue increasing, marketers need to engage with consumers at a higher level and stop tormenting them with the same content that doesn’t work. Instead, marketers need to deliver content that is more relevant to consumers, as the new and different work and lifestyle habits of consumers after Covid lead them to want more engaging and sophisticated content.

5: Courageous Marketers Who Promote Innovation

Brave marketers will add innovative channels like virtual / augmented reality to their marketing mix. Consumers are more savvy than ever and are increasingly demanding interactive and personal experiences when engaging with their favorite brands. That means marketers need to create content that can really excite their audience. When you provide consumers with a full experience powered by AR / VR, they can connect with brands in exciting new ways while reshaping their entire experience with a particular product. A robust platform for marketing activities will be vital for this type of innovation.

Organizations are being forced to become more agile, and CMOs will have the opportunity to leverage that agility to meet the demands of a new reality. Those who do get quick access to sales and marketing data and analytics, improve their marketing efforts quickly, and are far better positioned to survive and thrive in the year ahead.

Author: Mirko Holzer

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Mirko Holzer, founder and CEO of Brandmaker, is one of the most successful software managers in Germany. He is the strategic leader and driving force behind BrandMaker. Since Brandmaker was founded in 2008, the company has grown to become a leading provider of marketing process optimization, a fact that is confirmed in reports … Show complete profile >