Broadening marketing’s scope

The best marketers don’t fit their work into clearly defined boundaries. They constantly push the limits of marketing practices and challenge widely held understandings of what marketing can and should accomplish.

This month, we’re taking a look at marketing’s “new horizons.” These are the boundaries of marketing ready to be pushed and the areas we most expect innovation to happen in 2016. So what are the “new horizons” forward-thinking marketers need to start looking at and integrating into their strategies right now? Here’s what we suggest:

Marketing/Sales Technology

Technology is such a large part of marketing these days that some business leaders even think it’s time to create a new position: the “marketing technology officer,” or MTO, who would lead marketing product development, introduce new technologies to the department and spearhead all automation tactics. Does your marketing department have the tech it needs to establish your organization as a leader in 2016?

If you do not have them already, your marketing and sales departments should invest in:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) software, fully integrated with both marketing and sales
• A marketing automation program, which can handle all aspects of your digital marketing
• Data analysis programs that help your data analysts gain insights from collected information

Customer Service

How often does your marketing department talk to your customer service team? The customer service team deals with customers day in and day out, and that level of interaction gives team members plenty of customer insights to share. If your marketing and customer service departments aren’t aligned, your team is missing out.  

Moreover, a stand-out customer experience is what sets your B2B brand apart from all the others. In 2016, prioritize creating a memorable, positive customer experience that will keep your existing customers coming back, and turn them into brand advocates. Again, work with the customer service team for the best results.

Product Development

The data insights the marketing department collects and processes are all insights into the sort of products your prospects need. So in 2016, it’s time for the marketing department to take a more active role in product development.

Kickstart a stronger working relationship between marketing and product development in these two ways:

• Work with the product development team to streamline customer experience from first marketing contact through their use of the product
• Share insights with product development teams to inform new products based on target audience and customer insights

What else is your organization planning to build into your 2016 strategy? If you have big plans that could use the help of a partner firm, give us a call.

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