Life was easy when the herald shouted his message over the market place, reaching as many people as possible. Word of mouth was the only source of information since most people were illiterate. Only the upper class read books. The introduction of print changed this radically in the middle of the fifteenth century. Distribution of information became much easier because of the increasing number of books published. It took almost another 500 years before the first the first radios entered our lives around the 1920’s. The cinema came shortly after that and soon the first TVs entered our homes, followed rapidly by the computer, the internet and the mobile phone. Can you guess what’s next?.
It seems that the true media development (e.g. means of distribution) ends here. Ok, the technology push will enhance functionality of all media. Even technical synergies between them will be introduced. Audio books, portable media players with film etc. anything goes, but we have filled the media gap from eye to eye and from ear to ear. In networking terms this means that every peer has its node, the network is complete. Just give yourself time to realize that this is in fact a historical moment that will have an influence on all of us. The way we work, communicate, entertain ourselves. Now only logistics and price remain drivers for the “gadgets”. The network will improve in capacity and reliability but it is complete. It will be able to connect to all thinkable devices (cars, phones, PDA’s, coffee machines, the Hubble telescope and people).
There is, however, a parallel development. All these means of communication allows us to exchange information in a commercial context. From the early days when hunter gatherers shared the resources they had among the members of the group. First through trade, later at the markets in the cities centres and the travelling merchants of the middle ages. Today we see different types of communication (and marketing) when products and services are sold. Value based, product based, image and life style marketing are quite fashionable these days.
It appears that a firm correlation exists between the type of marketing used and the media involved. You could even state that marketing evolved with the introduction of new means of communication and that the type of distribution (the hardware, the technology push) is the determinating factor.
Development of marketing techniques
In this matrix I relate types of marketing to pay-off and effort. But you can replace the X-axis and Y-axis indexes with a few other developments.
For the X-axis you could use different attributes of the marketing techniques used. Like;
Communication device, more intricate marketing requires more sophisticated media
Pay-off,
1:1 – 1:many,
Infrastructure complexity,
Context dependency etc.
And for the Y-axis you could use different aspects to value the relationship
Effort involved,
Level of trust,
Span of customer attention ,
etc.
The paradigm shift shown in figure 4.1 comes down to the fact that the information distribution network is complete (all people are connected). This triggers a series of new mega trends that will lead to a change in customer approach in the future.
o Consumer behaviour trends are based on consumer participation, requiring trusted relationships
o Marketing techniques applied will be cross media, integrated messages with strong relationship building aspects.
o Technology will develop further. The network is complete. Consumer / customer devices will show rapid innovation over the next two decades or so.
o Business processes have reached the customer, allowing them to communicate directly with the supplier. The value chain is extended with CRM, Content Management, Identity
o Management, Customer services etc because customers can themselves add value to the company when facilitated properly.
If there is such a dependency between message and technology I think it is reasonable to assume that this relationship will remain. Although I stated earlier that development of media (hardware) is at the end of its innovation life cycle the development of hardware will not stop here, but in the next phase functionality and synergies will be sought out. (In the third phase price and logistics will be the only driver in the market.)
Will this apply to the development of marketing techniques also? The picture above indicates that there is more to it. With the traditional media types and marketing techniques we have always had a broadcast type of attitude.
“The times they are changing”. For marketing techniques this was the first lifecycle and as I see it we are standing at the beginning of a new era, a structural change in marketing approach. Not the way we distribute information is the prime driver, but the way we build and maintain relationships is key.
The first signs are already there. Spontaneous initiatives lead to high customer involvement. All profile sites, all my-space type initiatives. All video audio or opinion boards most of them small, but some of them worth a fortune. Almost all one-track ponies. They facilitate one single functionality, but manage to get high levels off attention which is translated in advertising income.
New and more sophisticated initiatives will be introduced shortly. Social networks off all kinds are already popular, but they will enhance their proposition towards value added communities. Momentarily profile sites facilitate a kind of internet presence for individuals (and companies). They facilitate communication. Future developments will bring other communities in which more functionality will be facilitated tuned to the needs of the community. Imagine an “expat”-community covering communication, family issues, schools and education abroad, pension, insurance and tax information etc. The context seems to be the best way to bundle and present information.
Traditional companies still have no answer to these developments, but they will have to learn how to use these new developments to their advantage.
Summary
Means : Most companies will outsource their external service infrastructures to ASP type suppliers. Hosting of web activities, Mobile phone and SMS services, VoIP, full service office facilities. Etc. The main driver is the strong and rapid innovation that forces companies to use specialists to optimize their earn-back period.
Message : Belong with us, be our partner. The age of loyalty relationships is over. The customers buy-in should be of more value, like true participation. May be even a shareholders relationship.
Media : Involvement requires interactivity and interactive media require networked infrastructures, solutions and business processes to service the customer.
No comments:
Post a Comment