Digital transformation of the marketing department is an ongoing high-priority strategic challenge for most businesses today. Within most businesses, the marketing team has traditionally been viewed as the holder of the customer relationship and as such, it is typically the marketing department that is landed with the responsibility of leading the organisational response to digital disruption.
However, the marketing team itself has to go through its own transformation to accept and adapt to the new customer-centric marketing approach, where the traditional push marketing relationship between buyer and seller is becoming increasingly redundant.
Marketers need to respond to a new relationship order – one where the technologically empowered customer demands to be engaged with via timely, relevant, responsive and valued dialogue in order to secure their attention and loyalty. The incredible influence of social media and digital channels has fundamentally changed the structures of marketing and the way marketing professionals establish and nurture relationships with buyers.
Due to the digital transformation of the marketing department, what we are now seeing is profound changes in marketing activities, where monologues have become conversations, and marketing specialists require a new set of skills to keep up with the rise of analytics and data-driven marketing.
Additionally, there are brand new marketing roles emerging, such as marketing technologists, whose job is to understand data and how the activities of the marketing campaign should respond to data and insight.
The fundamentals of marketing are changing, and they’re changing fast. If you’re struggling with digital marketing transformation or are not sure if your current digital marketing strategy is working, you may want to consider conducting a marketing audit.
Competitive advantage in the digital world now increasingly comes down to three competencies namely how you communicate, how you market and ultimately the customer experience you provide.
Changes in the relationship between buyer and seller, combined with the increasing commoditisation that digital technologies have brought to products and services, means that the single most important basis for differentiating competition is customer experience. This is as true for many of the world’s leading organisations as it is for small businesses.
Ensuring positive customer interactions with a brand or organisation across all possible digital platforms is by no means an easy path to establish, and even more difficult to maintain. It requires collaboration, dedication, commitment to change, and most importantly, embracing the new customer-centric culture where it is the customer, not the product or service, that is most important.
Successful digital transformation of the marketing department will accelerate your ability to deliver better customer experiences that will directly correspond with your ability to sustain a price point above your competitors.
The transition to the digital world means significant changes and further challenges lay ahead for management and staff. Keeping a finger on the pulse of digital advancements, online platforms, and data regulations is paramount to the ongoing success of most contemporary businesses.
For most organisations, the marketing department will become the operational frontline responsible for implementing and maintaining digital transformation. The leadership team will need to work in tandem with the marketing team to promote and support the broader workforce in implementing any necessary changes while shouldering the major responsibility.
To succeed in transitioning to the digital world, your organisation and employees will need to:
Addressing all of the challenges presented by the digital marketing transformation and embracing the opportunities they bring depends on having the right people working for you. The people who successfully lead your marketing efforts into the digital world will not only have the necessary skills and expertise, but also the right attitude and disposition to work within a dynamically changing environment.
At Growth & Search, we specialise in providing a comprehensive database of reputable marketing service professionals for both agency and individual needs. We don’t recommend just anyone – our talent advocates conduct thorough checks to ensure only the best, most high-quality marketing professionals make it to our candidate pools, effectively assisting you to identify the right people with the right skills and cultural fit to drive your marketing and customer experience transitions forward.
We would be delighted to hear about how your organisation is addressing your digital transformation of the marketing department
and its associated challenges and share further information about how Marketing Search’s outsourcing solution can work for you. Call us for a confidential discussion today at +61 0425 703 162 or drop us a line with your inquiry to neil@developer.wordpress-developer.us
Written by Neil Anderson
20th December 2022
Neil Anderson is the founder and director of Growthandsearch.com a privately owned business specialising in the provision of business growth-related knowledge and services for Australian small and medium size businesses operating in the services sectors.