It costs too much to direct the customer. Just as it costs too much to create a requirement and then offer the solution. A former partner of mine used to tell me when I presented him with an idea "we are not Apple and we do not have the possibility or even the ability to create a market or a need, so it is better to focus on something else, on already evident and advanced opportunities..." . I didn't always take his warning into consideration, making a mistake. And never like today do I remember it when I think about what my job will be like in the next few years. Because one of the futures of marketing is already upon us.
I'm reading Hawkins' books right now and I often hear about prediction. A scientific model as well as being elegant, simple and refutable must be able to be ascertained through the confirmation of multiple predictions. For them, predicting means confirming the consequences of certain actions with a model. And as I read these assumptions I was thinking about my work and the models in front of me. A few years ago I considered Proximity a model to follow, then the Performance model became one and today it is Marketing Automation. And prediction is the basis of this model. Gartner in the Hype Cycle curve of technologies that will have an impact in the next ten years has positioned Marketing Automation and Predictive Marketing among the Innovation Triggers linking the trend to topics such as Lead Management and Customer Journey Analytics.
Returning to the initial theme "we are not Apple" and consequently we do not create the market, it therefore becomes essential to predict consumer behavior to stimulate and influence him to take certain actions. And if on the one hand predictive analyzes allow us to define scenarios and purchasing propensities through the study of previous behaviors, on the other Marketing Automation allows us to build rules and communication actions aimed at certain behaviors of our potential customer. We don't create the need but we intercept it with ever faster and more effective mechanics. We may also be able to feed it but we will not be able to create it also because we are facing an era in which our consumer will be increasingly aware of both his needs and the quality of the product he desires. And the competition between brands will still be alive on an experiential and emotional level for a long time. The price will not be an absolute fundamental component but it will become one outside the concept of personalized offer which will in fact become the new stage of contact and engagement for the consumer. Finally we will start with one-to-one marketing.
Communication agencies will have the duty to profoundly change their approach and to rediscover strategic consultancy as the key to success for Brands through the experience, analysis and support of the Customer Journey. Creativity will have to find a new, faster, measurable and performance-oriented communication language. And for many years the competition will thrive on a mix of ideas and data.
“we are not Apple” but we can exploit and contribute to one of the futures of marketing by developing predictive models of communication that increase sales, through Marketing Automation and the analysis of consumer behavior. We are only at the beginning of a present that will be the future, until we enter the "make and buy" era. And that day will change everything once again.
I can't wait for you to arrive.
