The Digitalization of Marketing – ‘Going Digital’

Dear Challenger Brand, have you been talking often about ‘Going Digital’? We are often in conversations that begin with precisely this catch phrase - “We are interested in ‘Going Digital’, how can you help us?”. Without prejudice, we are often forced to remind our clients that the ‘Digital’ and associated ‘Data’ revolution really began with the commercial advent of the internet over two decades ago, giving digital technology the means to proliferate almost every domain of human interaction and facilitate sweeping attitudinal and behavioural changes. The power of ‘Digital’ and ‘Data’ as a transformative force has already shaped the success and omnipresence of well-known technology giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, IBM and Google to name a few names that people today would scarcely be able to imagine life without. So why are so many companies, twenty long years later, still struggling with the very basics of conceptualization and effective use of ‘Digital’ technologies and ‘Data’ as means of transforming their marketing operations and go-to-market strategies? It is fair to say that in the past decade, ‘Digital’ has catalysed a sea change in customer decision making - an evolutionary change that there may be no going back from, and it is one that applies as much to businesses selling to other businesses and via intermediaries, as to those selling directly to the customer. By giving customers access to a vast treasure trove of information about virtually anything in the world, considered choice and access to alternatives has put the customer quite firmly in the ‘drivers seat’ of the sales dialogue. The sooner businesses accept that the continuation of dated ways of doing business will likely not be sustainable in the long term, the better the chance they will have to catch-up with peers and competitors in this quest to digitalize. With the assistance of experts, organisations will be able to understand the nuances of how ‘Digital’ can reinvent or co-exist with even the most traditional of business structures and rework their business and marketing strategies. Most importantly, this process can catalyse a new start for the business as it acquires skills, know-how and technologies to gain real operational advantages – cost savings and revenue uplift, helping them adapt and survive. Are you a key executive or business owner who is struggling to make “Marketing” a value generator? Want to learn more about how to get ROI from investments in digital?