Free weekends for marketing directors

With continuous fragmentation of target groups picking up speed, an endless amount of data pouring in, and the number of potential channels increasing rapidly, it is justified to predict that the average lifespan of marketing directors –or at least their marriages – will soon show a steady decline. The eternal tugof-war between marketing and sales, combined with the typical battle between branding and lead generation, seems to do more harm than good. Literally drowning on choices, unable to find their way out of the jungle of options, marketing directors need help.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho

Modern marketing has become increasingly goal-oriented, as it should”, explains Matti Aalto-Setälä, VP, Business Development at Luxid, a Finland-originated, globally operating digital marketing agency. “To be able to provide sufficient return on investment, marketing needs clear, measurable objectives – precisely like sales.”

Aalto-Setälä points out that sales must demand ambition and results from marketing, and vice versa. In a data-driven business, this is the minimum demand.

“Marketing must be able to produce relevant leads for the sales force”, Pasi Voho, CEO at Luxid, adds. “The organization, culture and line of business each have an impact, but at the end of the day, an end-to-end solution for supporting sales must be built, and marketing must stay on top of things throughout it.”

Aalto-Setälä and Voho remind that while modern technologies enable a vast number of capabilities, the implementation and use of them are still extremely difficult for many. That is where the nightmares for marketing directors typically begin.

Luckily, there are experts in this field to turn to.

From one end to the other, marketing is about managing the right capabilities

Instead of joining the endless rat race of chasing random leads, marketing directors should remind themselves that even though technologies keep evolving and customer behavior changes, the principles of marketing and sales have remained very much the same.

“AI and other new technologies enable taking care of routine matters more efficiently”,

Pasi Voho explains. “The roles may change, and boundaries stretch, but successful marketing is still very much about putting the customer into the core, understanding customer needs and competitive situation – and delivering a relevant, memorable story about unbeatable benefits.”

The amount of data does not guarantee success, either. The key is to pick up the most meaningful pieces and utilize them in a way that helps make a difference.

“Marketing must be smart and combine data from several sources, and turn the outcome into tangible, executable decisions”, Matti Aalto-Setälä points out. “It takes special skills to analyze all available data, but modern technology provides efficient tools even for that”.

In spite of modern development – or, rather, just because of it – mastering the required capabilities is still the key to both more productive marketing and smart workload. Trust is still built between people, and even in the crossfire of disruptions and new technologies, competitive advantage is created by people who know their business thoroughly. |

Read more at: luxidgroup.com