The future of marketing is about connecting the dots for your audience
Updated: Nov 16, 2020
Looking behind the scenes of the brands that achieve tremendous success on the internet, it becomes apparent that many of them share something in common: they treat marketing as a service.
The next step in marketing
Marketing has historically been about communicating messages and ensuring it goes to the right person – framing a product and its brand; then deciding what to tell that target market. But the next phase that takes personalisation into account is marketing as a service – not only targeting your audience but taking a right next step for them.
The marketing ecosystem
It’s all about the marketing ecosystem you’re creating. The marketer’s job is to generate inner-operability between your product and other products, so the experience is seamless. Historically, it’s only been about the brand and its product. For airlines, their “product” is when consumers step on the plane, when they sit down and when they land. Once the consumer is off the plane, the airline is done. That method used to work, but now it’s not enough.
It’s all about connecting the dots for your consumers
The airline needs to move beyond just the initial product. Marketing as a service is about the entire customer journey – the reminder to tell someone to leave for the airport because they’re going to be late, the Uber that’s ordered to get to the airport, the food they get in the terminal and when they’re on the plane. Does the consumer care that you don’t own those experiences? No. They’d rather you partner with other companies to make those experiences seamless for them – that’s exactly why Delta partnered with Lyft. There’s so much opportunity to do more with a consumer’s experience, so they feel like you truly know them and have their back, it’s all about connecting the dots for them.
Create things of value
Rather than pumping out endless corporate propaganda and advertising, these brands use their marketing budgets to create things of value for their audiences. Whether it’s something as simple as a valuable how-to video on YouTube, or a large scale event that puts the audience at the heart of the action, this ‘marketing as a service’ is the only antidote to ongoing media inflation and the audience shift from newsfeeds to stories.
The key advantages of Marketing as a Service (MaaS)?
Stronger company positioning, messaging, and competitive advantage
A powerful launch that generates powerful market interest (analysts, press, and customers)
MaaS, implemented correctly, is the future of marketing.
A low burn rate
Flexibility in hiring to respond to early market reaction
A “virtual marketing department” that knows your company speaks with your voice and is indistinguishable from full-time staff that can eat away your budget and limit flexibility.
The ability to then hire a CMO with strong product and market expertise and set them up for early success rather than likely fail.