We often hear that Marketers of today face
challenges of the order that their predecessors never encountered. They have to fight their battles on multiple
fronts – Increasing competition, fast changing consumer needs, communication
challenges with multiple media, commodization, costs etc.
While most of the problems would have
existed in some degree in the past, media proliferation is definitely a
challenge that has emerged from the developments in technology. This brings us
to the question – OK. So, what exactly is the challenge?
The challenge is not very straightforward
and simple to understand. Let's break it into 3 components in the endeavour to understand it better.
Previously media was largely consigned to
print and television. When TV started expanding and growing in mid-90s,
marketers had to deal with communication challenges with channels exploding –
entertainment, sports, news, et al.
Marketers had decide on the channels that synergized with their brand
because the viewership got split across these channels.
Today, a new media is emerging and rapidly
too! It is social media that once again threatens to be disruptive just as it
was in mid-90s. The challenge is that
smart phones have allowed people to consume social media and consequently, has
split the earlier audience segment from TV. This poses the first challenge of Reach!!
How do you reach customer who has moved to social media from TV? US data for the last 4 years substantiates this
point of view. It is only a matter of time before
India gets to a similar situation.
Moreover, people have started sharing their
experiences with brands on social media in large numbers. This is the
unsolicited feedback that marketers always dreamed of getting from their
consumers. But are they listening? It’s not so easy if you look at the numbers
in the figure below:
 |
| source: Intel Inc. |
Marketers would need to leverage Social
media analytics to listen to these conversations given the volume and speed at
which it is generated. This will help marketers address the first challenge
too! Analytics will tell you where the potential consumer is spending more
time and hence the marketer can choose the right platform to reach her.
This is the second challenge of Listening & Understanding! Analytics will also provide invaluable insights on brands associations,
communication strategy, competition benchmarking.
We will cover the 3rd challenge in our next blog – It’s the most critical one – Action, Reaction & Corrective Action!!
