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Marketing's Flow and Ebb
Like most of you, I've been reading (in various places) about the year that was and the trends of 2007. Facebook, mergers, the dawn of mobile, blogs and more blogs, social media, Twitter and video all defined 2007 in some circles, and maybe even yours. At the same time, I've been hearing about what's to come in 2008: Web and green marketing are surging; Boomers are still the most important demographic (though women, Gen X and Y, and Hispanics are catching up); business opportunities abound in China and India. At least, so says a new survey of marketing executives conducted by Anderson Analytics. Then again, it seems everything old is new again: "Marketing basics" was the concept of greatest interest to marketers (60% rated it "Very Important"), according to the Anderson study. The term includes specific concepts such as customer satisfaction, customer retention, segmentation, brand loyalty and ROI. You read that and wonder, "How can that be? Isn't that contradictory?" Maybe. Or not. Maybe because we had a few days of a watery mid-winter thaw in Boston last week, creating rivers of melting snow, I think of it this way: Marketing is like a swift-moving but deep river. The surface moves quickly and changes frequently – some ripples and waves (like Facebook fads and Beacon bombs) come and go, while others (like social media) achieve critical mass and gain depth, becoming part of the stable mainstream. Nonetheless, deep down, the current moves more slowly. There's less shift, things are relatively staid. Under the surface are the standbys – the constants of branding, direct, customer focus, and so on. Whether we are talking marketing or rivers, the exciting changes at the top wouldn't be possible without the deeper, still waters that form a timeless, flowing foundation of sorts. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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