The world of marketing has never been as exciting.  However, it’s also never been this tumultuous. Customers demand more choices, improved services and customized solutions.  New technologies are available to streamline processes, identify opportunities and measure performance. The marketing discipline, as we knew it, has been irreversibly changed. Now your marketing leadership must do the same.

It wasn’t long ago.  Marketers focused on a few key strategies and tactics to reach its target:

•        Direct (print, radio, etc.)

•        Print (magazines, newspapers, etc.)

•        Place Based (in-store, recreation, etc.)

•        Out of home (guerrilla, mobile, etc.)

•        Audio & Visual (TV, radio, etc.)

•        Public Relations  (events, press, etc.)

Today, connecting with customers is far more complex. New platforms and ever-evolving verticals make establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders very challenging.  The marketing function is evolving, requiring leadership to redefine and expand the traditional mix.  Today, marketers use the traditional methodologies along with these more engaging and ubiquitous initiatives:

•        Online (search, e-commerce, etc.)

•        Mobile (phones/PDA, game consoles, etc.)

•        Experiential (sports, festivals, etc.)

•        Analytics (measuring, managing, etc.)

Now marketing management is faced with the need to extend departmental capabilities to improve functional, technical, strategic and tactical bandwidth – while maintaining the agility necessary to stay competitive… not an easy task.

It would be great if organizations had an option to delay this marketing evolution and transformation. Leaders could conduct business as usual, and performance would improve perpetually. However, that is not realistic.

Leaders can’t discuss a changing world without discussing and adapting to the changing marketing world.  At least they shouldn’t.