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Digital technology enables total
personalisation, contradicting the
very principle of market consolidation
The fact that digital technology enables
total customisation is diametrically
opposite to the traditional mass-
marketing approach. A brand can
now build a very personal, engaging,
authentic relationship with the
consumer – something that is fast
becoming the new norm.
The key issue for marketers is that this
is now expected by consumers; hence it
is no longer something a company may
consider as an optional strategy.
For some years, we have had brands
such as BMW offer a certain degree of
product customisation. Today, with a
brand like the innovative Tesla electric
car, this personalisation is near-infinite. The message is
The car can almost take on the
requirements, needs and personality
of its owner. From being able to adjust
controls, update its own software
overnight, or welcome its owner into the
car, the Tesla is able to offer a degree
of personal comfort no other vehicle
has been able to achieve to date. This
is largely because of a sophisticated,
yet simplified technology interface.
The notion of seamless consumer
engagement in a consistent and
integrated manner has always been
elusive to brands. Manual systems,
human failure, disparate technology
and varying infrastructure all made
consistent brand delivery complex and
almost impossible to attain.
Today, however, technology enables
this. As the Internet of Things grows,
as systems integrate and online and
offline marketing channels converge,
brand experiences will become more
manageable and seamless. Yet, for
it to happen, brands need to think
this way. It will not happen if they see
digital technology as an adjunct to the
central business processes and the
rest of marketing.
The best brand, regardless of
category, sets the standard of
engagement and experience
There is something akin to ‘the butterfly really putting consumers at the centre
effect’ (the concept that small causes
can have large effects) in business.
This happens when something small
that one brand does resonates across
all other brands, even if just in a tiny
way. Once done, nothing else is the
same thereafter. It changes the way in
which consumers view all other brands,
regardless of category.
As an example, if my bank delivers
an exceptional new experience, then
that becomes the level at which I
now expect other brands to behave.
It re-sets the scope of engagement
of all other brands. Even within the
constraints of data privacy, we do
not like it when our bank does not
?
to change while
it’s still possible
know us, or tries to sell us the same
thing again and again. So while
we are apprehensive of our data
becoming freely available, we are
also unhappy if our brands do not
use it to our advantage.
For example, we happily share
everything about ourselves on
LinkedIn because we believe it will
benefit us. Is this not another paradox
of modern marketing?
Brand experiences are no different
from experiences with friends. The
better you know your friends, the
more able you are to remain close to
them. The more intuitive an interface
becomes, the more authentic it
becomes. Technology enables it,
but also makes it imperative.
August–September 2016 strategicmarketing 31
To conclude
A new business universe demands a
new marketing approach. This means
of the business and knowing as much
as possible about them. Brands must
be leveraging technology to engage
them in the way they want to be
engaged. It means innovation now
has to be a far more central capability
of most companies.
For many businesses, this also
means the uncertainties it deals with
have multiplied many times. Living
with contradictions has become the
new normal.
Similarly, the changed world
demands a new management style
with greater agility and, arguably, the
imminent demise of companies stuck
in conservative paradigms.
None of us can claim we know exactly
where the future lies, or even what
technology will be capable of in our field
of endeavour. But we do know it can no
longer be business as usual. We know
we need to ask the hard questions,
even if we won’t have answers at times.
We know we will need to be agile.
And we also understand that we will
need to inculcate innovation into our
culture and DNA.
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Strategic Marketing
Magazine
Dr Thomas
Oosthuizen is Global
Consulting Director
at Acceleration.
With over 30 years
of experience, he
is a marketing and
brand strategy expert
working with many global leaders in
their field. Oosthuizen holds a PhD in
Integrated Marketing Communications
and has been a judge on many marketing
industry award panels.