Though social and digital media are rapidly transforming
marketing and new tools emerge daily, in most firms the organization of the
function hasn’t changed in 40 years. How should marketers revamp their
strategies, structures, and capabilities to meet the new realities? To find
out, the consultancy Effective- Brands and its partners conducted a study
involving 10,000 marketers from 92 countries, which examined what separated
high-performing marketers from the pack. High performers, the study showed,
excelled in three areas: integrating data about what customers are doing with
an understanding of why they are doing it; communicating a brand purpose (the
functional, emotional, and societal benefits of the offering); and delivering a
“total experience” to customers. To provide this kind of experience, high
performers break down silos and enlist the help of the entire organization.
That means they must link marketing strategy tightly to business strategy and
to other functions; inspire employees across the company with the brand’s
purpose; focus and align around a few key priorities; set up nimble,
cross-functional teams; and build internal capabilities through extensive
training at all levels. Surprisingly, few companies have been able to put all
these pieces together. Only half of even high-performing organizations excel on
some of these capabilities. But that shouldn’t be discouraging; rather, it just
illuminates where there’s work to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]