Contemporary Marketing

Assignment No.1

Date: 15th September 2019

Submitted by: Sumaira yasmeen
Registration No. 1858145 (EMBA 2)

What are the changes (innovations) in marketing over the past 5 years?
Definition of marketing changes over time:
The idea that a business should strive to satisfy customers' needs and wants while generating
a profit for the business. Explain why the definition of marketing changes over
time. Marketing is ongoing. Marketers must keep up with trends and consumer attitudes
when trends and the customer base change over time.

How Marketing Has Changed:

Five years ago, people went to one or two websites when looking for a product, and made a
decision based on that information. Today, however, the information available about products
is almost endless following are some of the changes we encountered in marketing.

Online presence has become key:

Over the last ten years, we’ve adapted to using the online world to listen, research, and find
products/services we want to buy. For any business in any industry, it’s no longer a nice to
have it’s a necessity. Being present online is only step one of letting customers know what we
do, we must also build brand awareness and engage with our community to build trust.

Brand Consistency:
Customers used to look at maybe one or two websites when wanting to make a purchase.
They wouldn’t go to 10-20 different websites and look at reviews, social activity and how a
business was dealing with customer service. For a business to succeed in the marketing world
now, they need to be brand consistent.
It takes on average ten touch-points for a customer to trust, and purchase from a business. It
never used to be this difficult, or complex.
Digitalization of marketing:
Businesses are worried about embracing digital, and are finding it hard to be truly successful
through their digital marketing. Digital marketing was barely an after-thought ten years ago
but now, it is the primary focus, and one which does have businesses worried.

Technology Advancement:
Over the last 5-10 years, there has been some major advancements in technology and because
of this, a larger budget is being put in place by businesses so that they can stay ahead of their
competitors.
This also includes hiring more knowledgeable people to take control of a digital aspect of the
business as well as having freelancer help with content creation, and paid advertisement.
The ways in which we can engage with consumers has increased, and there are endless
opportunities but it does cost money to explore these and put a strategy in place.

Social Media:
Businesses have been quick to realise, especially over the last five years, how critically
important Social Media is to generating revenue and brand awareness.
As more potential customers are turning to Social Media as a way to engage online,
businesses have had to follow suit. Something I always say as a way to be successful, is to
take the conversation to your customer. Go to where they want to hang out and that is Social
Media.

Credibility is more important:

Credibility is what can make or break a business. You need to be memorable, and authentic.
This doesn’t mean that you say something headline-grabbing and then because you have a lot
of short-term interest that you suddenly have credibility. It doesn’t work like that. Building
long-term relationships with your audience and a brand that is credible and respectable will
win in the long run.

Follow-Ups
Advertising can help you get a job, but what you do after a job can often be a much stronger
marketing tool. Follow-up questionnaires are one of the best sources of feedback for how
your ad campaign is going.
  Why did the customer choose your business?
 Where did he or she hear about it?
 Which other companies had he or she considered?
 What was the customer most satisfied with?
 What was least satisfying?

Content Marketing:
A great content marketer is always experimenting, always looking to the latest trends, and
striving to stay on the cutting edge. That way they can produce the best kind of content for
the voice and image of their brand.

 Create content people want to share, whether that’s because it’s funny, powerful,
interesting, or newsworthy.
 Create something unique, even if you’re just putting a new spin or something old.
 Personalize the experience whenever and wherever you can.
 Tell a story that people can relate to.
 Teach your audience something.
 Adapt your content to new and different platforms

Value Additions

This is one of the most powerful selling points for any product or service. On the surface,
value additions are very similar to coupons and free appraisals, but they are aimed at
increasing customer satisfaction and widening the gap between you and the competition.

Cold Calls

Cold calling, whether it is over the phone or door-to-door, is a baptism of fire for many small
businesses. Cold calling forces you to sell yourself as well as your business. If people can't
buy you (the person talking to them), then they won't buy anything from you. Over the phone,
you don't have the benefit of a smile or face-to-face conversation – a phone is a license for
people to be as caustic and abrupt as possible (we are all guilty of this at one time or another).
However, cold calling does makes you think on your feet and encourages creativity and
adaptability when facing potential customers.