Ever since reading Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind a couple months ago I realized much of what people are calling marketing, is busy work. These are activities any person…or just about any computer for that matter could simply automate.
This was confirmed for me when I read Regis McKenna – Total Access.
Regis points out that marketing as we know it is disappearing. Chief information officers are automating the core advertising and promotion functions of marketers. And chief strategy officers are dispersing branding responsibilities throughout their organizations. And as the departments squabble among themselves over whether marketing is an art or a science, they’re completely overlooking what marketing has become: a technology.
And like any technology, much of what once required human intervention is now at risk of being automated or outsourced to countries formerly looked down on as ‘third world countries’.
Of course, as of yet, no computer can replace true creative thought processes. Those jobs are secure. For now.
But for every marketing function that can be automated, a business must keep in step to keep from falling behind. Automate or outsource.
Easier said than done. There are marketing areas in every company that can be systematized and automated. Sadly, most companies will never do anything about these new challenges. Instead of implementing the tasks and functions easiest to adapt, most will not follow through on any ideas beyond what they are already doing or have done in the past. That’s a surefire plan for becoming a victim of modern marketing automation.
It usually takes something drastic to shake people up to the point of looking at new marketing possibilities. Maybe an aggressive and domineering competitor to pop up. Or a dramatic drop in sales. Or a change in the economy to trigger a move towards considering doing something different or new.
By then it’s too late. Competitors have already gained a strong foothold. They become first to reach your prospects’s minds. Everyone else becomes an also-ran. Very bad.
As Trout and Ries point out in their book Positioning – the battle for your mind, it is always better to be first than to try to be better.
If you are serious about profiting no matter what is going on in today’s new economy, grab a copy of Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind. And while you’re at it, grab a copy of Regis McKenna’s Total Access too.
I’m certain you’ll appreciate having your eyes opened too.
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