Tools Execution is Not Customer Centric: Recreate The Marketing Agency Model

 

It amazes me how many marketing companies base their very being on execution tools (web development, social media, email) and still call themselves “integrated”. Or, for that matter, how many clients end up down this rabbit hole.

Before your head explodes or you set the comment section on fire, please continue.

Some companies sell tools. Some marketers buy tools. Purchasing decisions are usually driven by pre-determined budgets. It looks kind of like this:

 

For the sake of continuity, I call this Siloed Execution.

Many agencies sell integrated marketing. Integrated marketing is smart. It looks kind of like this. It saves money, connects contact points, and is a much smarter spend than siloed tools. However, purchasing decisions are still often driven by pre-determined budgets without regard for customer impact.

Technical integration of execution tools is, well, technical. While it allows us to do our jobs more seamlessly and with improved branding, etc, it begins with the tools–not humans.

Customer Centric Program Development: Begin with the target customer, build out the content strategy, develop the brand, then deliver. This approach will provide a scalable budget based on desired impact.

Here’s a simplified version, using the sample tools above, of how this looks:

Let’s break this apart:

Customer: Your customer more than the summation of their demographics. Focus on the consumer lifestyle. For more on lifestyle-focused marketing, check out Retail Content Strategy: It’s a lifestyle.

Content: What kind of value and information is of value to the customer lifestyle? This is the kind of content they want to consume: the kind that provides value to their life. Value can be created by education, entertainment, or even social status.

Brand: How can the brand connect, create, or amplify the content customers are seeking–while remaining consistent with its values?

Delivery: This is where marketing agencies sometimes begin. “We can access XYZ demographics.”

Tools: This is where marketing agencies usually begin. Today’s favorite claim to competence: “We do social media.” I’ve been “doing” telephones my entire life and that doesn’t mean anything without the messaging, the customer-centric program development. Those who sell “social media” (or other tools like “email marketing” and “web development” for that matter) did not take to heart the demise of Borders.

Talk about true integration. It all beats from the same human heart: The customers’.

Now that I’ve offended most of my professional marketing colleagues, let’s start a conversation. Comment and let me know what you think, what you recommend differently.

Tagged as: branding, content strategy, customer centric, data marketing, integrated marketing, marketing tools