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 the 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. Chief strategy officers are dispersing branding responsibilities throughout the organization. And as they squabble 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.
Still, though there are marketing areas in every company that can be systematized and automated, I am convinced most companies will never do anything about it. Instead of implementing the tasks and functions easiest to adapt, most will not follow through on ideas beyond their immediate area of experience.
Heck, most will probably never even look at marketing possibilities. It takes something drastic to shake them up. Maybe an aggressive and domineering competitor to pop his head up. Or a drop in sales. Or a change in the economy to trigger even a thought of considering doing something different than they are already doing.
By then it is too late. Competitors have already gained a strong foothold. They were first. And 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 in today’s new economy, grab a copy of Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind and Regis McKenna’s Total Access.
I’m certain you’ll appreciate having your eyes opened too.
-Andre-