Problem six is competing in dynamic global markets.
The AMA’s first intellectual agenda is meant to serve as a source of guidance and inspiration for marketing professionals as well as academics. In it, we lay out the “seven big problems” marketers face in the boardroom and in the marketplace. These problems are a large part of that intellectual agenda, and will help us hone in on how we inform and inspire you, the marketing community.
Here, we dive into the questions that stem from each of the seven problems. AMA thought leaders discuss the “what” and “why” of each pillar problem, while we leave the door open indefinitely on the “how.” After all, marketing is about rolling with the punches.
Randy Guard
EVP and CMO at SAS
For most companies, businesses that offer similar products or services are no longer the only competition. To maintain customer loyalty in a crowded marketplace, it is important to forge relevant partnerships with other companies in your space. An auto manufacturer can no longer be solely concerned with other car brands; now, it must be aware of the rapidly growing popularity of ride sharing, for example. When partnering with new market participants, data is the common thread in how companies interact, and smart analysis of this data is the key to success.
Richard Labot
Global Director of Network Operations at Geometry Global
In the global professional services sector, creating teams of partners in a new market efficiently fills talent and capability gaps that would normally take time and investment to fill when going it alone. Like any ecosystem, balance is key to success and those involved have to be aligned to a common goal. There need to be clear responsibilities, rules of engagement and a financial model that encourages participation and collaboration of all parties. Previous experience working together, familiarity with the inter-company process and like-minded corporate cultures round out a best-in-class ecosystem.
Ravi Prashad
SVP of Strategy at GALE Partners
Shaping the future isn’t easy—it requires ambition, humility, and expertise. Objectively understanding the risk-reward equation will help winning firms place the right bets. Global experts living in the future are invaluable if they tailor their expertise to the individual firm. Too often, so-called experts trot out popular trends without an objective understanding of what might work for a specific client. Winning firms partner with global experts who apply innovation, understand their unique business and build marketing solutions that emphasize operational capabilities.
Kurt Hawks
SVP of Cross Device and Video at Conversant
To better predict competitive shifts in our marketplaces (or create them), companies must be laser-focused on the behaviors, needs and preferences of the end consumers within those marketplaces. As such, companies must strike strategic partnerships that best enable them to gain a single view of their consumers, seamlessly identify consumers across all devices and channels and measure the incremental effectiveness of marketing programs in real time. True consumer insight results in the ability to anticipate the future needs of consumers and create competitive shifts rather than react to them.
Rand Fishkin
Cofounder of Moz
Transformation, like any major upheaval, is going to be a serious struggle for organizations that don’t embrace learning and evolution. The type of competition companies faced in the past is different from the competition and disruption they now face due to technology. Companies in sectors such as transportation, media and retail have been learning harsh lessons throughout the past decade. Meanwhile, plenty of incumbents in areas such as health care, finance and energy are feeling invincible, but I suspect they will have the same tough comeuppance in the decades ahead. Digital media moves fast. In just the past 10 years, we’ve seen the rise of multiple platforms that touch millions (Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn) or billions (Google, Facebook, Whatsapp). That requires digital marketing teams to move fast, too.
Mary Hinesly
Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business
We can see that digital technology is changing how businesses are run and expand globally. Globalizing your company requires a different approach to thinking about how value is created. There are many companies that require a digital audit to learn what is currently being used and how it is being used in their organization to nurture globalization. Mobilizing and inspiring employees through a cooperative culture will streamline digital technology roll outs and help your company to globalize more quickly.
Christopher Vollmer
Principal at PwC
In leader organizations, senior management has a compelling point of view about what the future looks like and how they must transform to win in it. Brand purpose is injected into the key moments valued most by users. Content, products and services are available where users can easily find them. Digital is integrated with the physical. Their organizations know how to team, partner and work across traditional silos. Tough calls are made regularly on legacy businesses, talent and infrastructure to invest for growth and drive the company forward. Leaders recognize that digital is more than a clever reallocation of marketing spend. They see digital transformation as an opportunity to win in a world where every brand interaction is just one step from purchase.
