By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting.
I went along to the Digital Marketing of the Future event last week - run by the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) and The Knowledge Engineers. We were presented with insightful and forward-thinking content and a view we could not complain about (the venue was the top of Sydney Tower with panoramic views)! This week's blog is all about the changing digital landscape and will be followed next week with a blog identifying the 4 key trends disrupting the way we work.
Speakers:
- Sam Yorke – Acting CEO & Head of Regulatory Affairs - IAB
- Niall McKinney – CEO – The Knowledge Engineers
Panellists:
- John Batistich – Director of Marketing – Westfield Group
- Matt James – Managing Director – Mi9 Media
The changing landscape
With statistics such as “Digital ad spend is about to overtake free-to-air TV” and “182% increase in mobile ad spend growth from 2012 to 2013” – it’s clear that the way marketers are interacting with their customers is changing – and this applies to B2B marketers too. This is partly due to the changing ways consumers (and businesses) purchase products. The progression and adoption of Digital – whether it’s simply Google searching or advergaming – has changed the way customers purchase forever.
To set the scene, Niall McKinney, CEO of the Knowledge Engineers (and my brother!) shared a very thought-provoking quote from James Cameron who spoke with the Editor of one of TKE’s products (12ahead.com). He said:
“All the skills I have learned as a young film-maker have changed. Each tech skill I learned at the time is obsolete. But I am not obsolete. We created a brand new toolset to expand what we can do as story-tellers”.
Exponential change examples
“The computer in your cell phone today is a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful and about a hundred thousand times smaller” (than the one computer at MIT in 1965).
1. The average number (across all categories and all industries) of sources consumers use before making a purchase:
- 2010 it was 5.2
- 2011 it was 10.4
- For B2B businesses, the numbers are likely to be on the higher end of this spectrum. When a business is parting with a large amount of money they do their homework – and may have multiple people working on this homework at one time (as opposed to one consumer looking to buy a new teapot).
2. Volume of mobile data used by the average person (in the world) every year:
- 2010 it was 55MB
- 2011 it was 150MB
- 2012 mobile internet overtook fixed line in India (and in China this year).
3. Some 90% of the world’s consumer data was created in the last two years. The majority of this data is unstructured.
What does this means to marketers and how we do business?
- Skills: The world has changed and our skills as marketers have to change with it. We are not obsolete – but we need new skills to keep on top of these changes.
- Speed: We need to be able to quickly change our business models and marketing / sales practice when it’s needed - rather than following fads.
- Change: We need the ability to change - in our own roles and in our companies. Our places of work have to nurture this.
If you work in B2B ICT and you think you / your company needs help addressing some of the issues above, use one of our self-assessment tools to identify where your weaknesses are. These are all specifically created for B2B ICT Sales and Marketing staff:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your content marketing program against the needs of the modern B2B buyer.
- Assess your business to see if social media is being used to maximise your marketing & sales outcomes.
To learn more about the new customer journey, come to our “How to get on your buyer’s shortlist event” taking place in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne which is aimed specifically at B2B ICT Sales and Marketing Directors. Spaces are limited so register today.
