Today, marketers' work is more critical to business success than ever before. But for seasoned marketers and communications professionals, today's climate can make you feel like an extinct dinosaur.
It feels like we are on a rocket with no known destination. We are always moving forward.
As we navigate uncharted territory, it has become almost common to sometimes fly blindfolded. We have pivoted from creative corporate roles to more complex data-driven roles and found ourselves needing to invest in continuing education to keep up.
An identity crisis in marketing?
Advanced technology and a world that moves at lightning speed has left us with an identity crisis. Who are we? CMOs? No, those days are over. Today (more than ever) we are multi-talented beings: Data Analysts, Cultural Ambassadors, Chief Data Officers, Chief Digital Officers, Chief Experience Officers and visionaries.
It’s more important to define a clear and inspiring future path for your company, based on innovation and transformation, than flashy ads and campaigns. Remember, we are also risk managers.
In a marketplace where changing customer needs, globally accessible information and new technologies are not the only drivers, we must take more (calculated?) risks than ever before to drive innovation and stay competitive.
Aligning customer behavior with business strategy has been and remains the core of our work, but it is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable.
User journeys are changing rapidly, Google and social networks are changing their algorithms and platform features almost daily, and the lines between brand awareness, performance marketing, and ultimately, quality leads and sales are becoming blurred.
For coworkers and superiors who have had a hard time understanding what we do in our department, it only gets worse. No one understands what we actually do, and to be honest, sometimes not even ourselves, who are new to our field.
We are now working in many different fields trying to become masters of puppetry in all aspects, which demands dynamic skills and this requires continuous learning and adapting of skills.
Surviving the Age of GenAI and GenZ
Also, in our profession, once you reach a certain age, you can feel disconnected from new ways of working, so bridging the gap between generations and experiences is really important.
We recently found that 64% of Gen Alphas would rather be an influencer or YouTube star than become president of their country (3 out of 9 YouTube channels worldwide are run by kids of Gen Alpha), and that 73% of 8-11 year olds spend most of their time playing video games, with a third spending that time exclusively online with friends.
#GenAI is growing at an unprecedented rate: ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just 2 months, while Google Translate took 6.5 years.
Speed to market has never been more important. To stay on top in this increasingly digital, fast-paced world, the biggest pressure is for clean, usable data, data, and more data. But the lack of control over data and ownership of data management brings new challenges.
Today's marketing environment is unforgiving. Advanced technology, changing consumer behavior, and an overall disruptive marketplace require you to constantly improve your skill set. Forget decades of experience and stay constantly on your toes. Experience alone is no longer enough.
In addition to all the above, it is important to go out and network. Never underestimate the importance of active networking in order to maintain a strong brand. To juggle and balance the daily workload with the required training, attending industry events and staying up to date in this fast-paced environment is paramount.
Main Struggles
- AI tools are constantly evolving
- Tight Budget
- Explain marketing’s contribution to business leaders – Metrics for measuring success can be difficult, especially for campaigns focused on brand visibility, awareness and engagement, not just driving sales.
- Train your team to be on top of your game
- Always test new channels and tread uncharted territory
- Leads and data, data and leads
- Capture customer attention in a rapidly changing digital environment
Key learnings and lessons learned
Embrace change, stay on top of the ever-evolving technology landscape, stay open and curious, and stay networked to learn from your peers, the industry, and emerging trends and tools.
Marion Englert, Head of Marketing & Communications, Continental General Trading Group LLC FZ, Dubai
