About 90% of consumers today expect brands to offer personalised experiences and 80% are willing to shift to a competing brand if they do not receive that, according to a survey. The recently unveiled Modern Marketing Reckoner 2023 titled ‘Transform to Thrive’ by MMA Global India in partnership with media agency network GroupM India outlined the ways in which consumer habits in terms of media or product consumption are changing, and also the ways marketers can navigate the uncertainty brought on by factors like inflation, consumer behaviour shifts and the war in Europe by incorporating technology and data in their marketing strategy.
The reckoner suggests ways for marketing professionals to protect their ad budgets from fraud, while underscoring the importance of customer-centric advertising. Noting that customisation goes beyond media today, it advocates that marketers explore dynamic strategies based on individual customer preferences and communication channels, using tools like QR scans, exclusive product bundles and online marketplaces.
Empower the marketer
Emphasising the need for marketer empowerment in a fast-changing ecosystem, Moneka Khurana, country head and board member, MMA Global India, explains, “There are four key shifts that have happened across the board. The first is technology shifts, which include the growth in AI, 5G connectivity, blockchain and more. The second is power shifts from the centre to the edge, from an institution to an individual and from consolidation to fragmentation. The others are boundary shifts, whether these are home and office boundaries, blurring of roles and mind shifts, as seen in changing consumer behaviour patterns.”
She says full-stack marketers are those who can drive performance, and leverage data and technology. She asserts that there is a growing need for marketing professionals to upgrade skills at a time when the function is no longer “a sidecar attached to a motorbike but rather the engine that drives it”.
Khurana adds that first-party data will become key in the future and will serve as the foundation for all brand communication and consumer interaction. GroupM’s chief strategy officer for South Asia, M Parthasarathy adds that the most important and much-overlooked area of improvement for marketers is consumer consent when capturing data. “Marketers need to think about what they are giving consumers in exchange for the data they receive. They need to work on ways to use data so that it benefits the consumers and enhances their experience. A critical piece of advice we always give our clients is to collect relevant data. Ask consumers only for the information you need to build a better-personalised experience for them,” says Parthasarathy. He adds that the message and medium are no longer separate things.
According to the report, even though AI and technology are transforming the way marketing is done today, the role of human intelligence and insight cannot be underplayed because that is what ensures efficient outcomes. With marketing at the centre of organisational transformation, the CEO’s and the CMO’s roles have become interconnected than ever before.