Marketing 4.0 - critical summary review

Philip Kotler, one of the world's top marketing experts, wrote Marketing 4.0 to guide the next generation of professionals on the road to change. Marketing is no longer the same: the internet and the rise of the digital world have changed the relationship of companies with their consumers. Advertisements on billboards and television are no longer as influential as before. So how do you reach your customers effectively? What are the changes brought by this new era of the digital world? This book will help you understand the new dynamics of the market and how you can improve your productivity today. Shall we go?

What is Marketing 4.0

We are going through a period of transition and adaptation in marketing. In this age of digital economy, a new approach is required to guide marketers and help them anticipate disruptive technologies.

Marketing 4.0 is an approach that combines online and offline interactions between businesses and customers. Digital interaction alone is no longer sufficient in this new digital economy. In fact, in an increasingly online world, offline interactions can represent a great competitive advantage.

Marketing 4.0 is also a mixture of style and content. We know that brands must be increasingly flexible and adaptable thanks to rapid technological trends. But also, in an increasingly transparent world, authenticity is a very valuable asset.

Finally, Marketing 4.0 leverages machine-to-machine connectivity and artificial intelligence to improve marketing productivity while leveraging person-to-person connectivity to strengthen consumer engagement.

And in this new scenario, companies face some challenges:

• If traditional media are no longer sufficient, how can we get customers' attention?

• How can we engage customers by encouraging supporters for our products and brands?

• How to find influencers to promote our product?

Changes In Consumer Dynamics

Thanks to the internet, consumers are much more concerned about the quality of goods and companies before doing any business. You can find out any information about a company using Google: Does this company have complaints? How does she treat her clients? What are the main problems and difficulties faced by its consumers?

So it's much harder for organizations to get customers' attention. And if you are thinking about developing successful marketing, you will need to do more than the old billboards or advertisements on television channels. Spending lots of money on celebrities is no longer a guarantee of success for brands: the customer can get on the internet and find out if the product is really what it claims to be and if there are complaints.

So if you want to reach that consumer, you need to be present on the internet and his social networks.

Inclusive World

The structures of power have undergone a drastic change in the world. In the past, these structures were vertical and individual. What does that mean?

A few years ago, when you bought a quality product, your claim reached some family, friends, and acquaintances at the most. The information did not go through because the channels were limited and exclusive.

These days, if you buy some bad product, you can complain about your social network and demonstrate your dissatisfaction with people you don't even know by marking the company name. So if someone else decides to research the product, they will have access to your complaint and can be influenced by it. The world today is inclusive, social and horizontal.

Consumers come together to share experiences and prevent them from being cheated by buying substandard products.

Also, anyone has access to the information available: if you want to know about the experience of someone who purchased a glass at Disney, you can do this from your city in the interior of Minas Gerais for example. No more barriers, social networks have transformed the world. And that implies that no one else makes individual decisions. If you can search for information, why would not you do this before purchase?

So, if a company wants to achieve success, it must have a horizontal structure. There is no point in developing products and distributing them on the market. The company needs to involve the consumer in this development process, making it a reflection of what happens in the digital world.

The power went out of the hand of the company to the consumer's hand. Users no longer rely on brand advertising, being much more influenced by friends, family and social networks for example.

Digital Influencers

Forget about TV ads or mass mailing - people are no longer paying attention to these media, they do not trust you. Instead, as stated earlier, they rely on friends, colleagues, and before the social networks. Celebrities and advertisements have been replaced by digital influencers: the Internet celebrities, Youtubers, and Instagramers that people trust.

And in digital marketing, influencers can be separated into three categories:

• Young People (Mindshare)

• Women (Marketshare)

• Internet Inhabitants (Heartshare)

Young people are more open to new technologies and will be responsible for testing and evaluating your product. If you can convince them, you can win the so-called Mindshare: young people will be thrilled with your solution and are interested in disclosing to friends, colleagues and older people.

Several types of research have shown that women are better decision-makers than men. That happens because they are less impulsive and because they analyze several options in search of the best available purchase solution. Therefore, they should not be ignored and are very relevant to your business. Conquering women will secure a good chunk of Marketshare for their product.

The people who live on the internet are the inhabitants. If these people like some product, they talk about it and indicate. Also, these inhabitants have many followers on the web; which makes them great influencers. This way, you can earn Heartshare by making them defend your product by believing in its purpose.

Digital Marketing Brought Changes

Ignore the old market segmentation, in Marketing 4.0 it is replaced by community segmentation. It means that dialogues with communities will help you target your product. But it is important to pay attention to the fact that these communities do not attach importance to spam and advertisements. Insisting on this type of communication channel can tarnish your brand on the market. People are individual and unique, so they do not want standardized solutions.

You should strive to have a conversation with this community, which can bring good results. Rather than simply presenting your product, you can ask straightforward questions like "Which product do you most use for this?". In this way, you will promote dialogue and relationships with your customers.

Also, it is important to understand the value of the Character Code, which now replaces the famous 'Brand Position.' It means that the company must not only place itself on certain issues but must also demonstrate a position consistent with these positions - whether in the social networks or the culture of the organization. With the internet, brands should be more transparent as they are closely monitored by users.

You've probably heard of the famous 4P's Marketing framework. Now they are replaced by the 4C's. That is the most dramatic change promoted by Digital Marketing:

• The Product is replaced by Co-creation: instead of simply launching a product, the company works together with the community, capturing the demands of it.

• The Price is superseded by Currency: Recurring revenue-producing products/services systems - such as subscription channels (Spotify, 12min, Deezer, etc.) - are growing in the digital age, replacing the single price.

• The Place is substituted by Communal Activation: Anyone can sell a product from anywhere. We no longer rely on physical spaces to sell ourselves.

• The Promotion is replaced by Conversation: Product promotion is superseded by conversations between community members and social networks.

Using Content Marketing

Have you heard of Content Marketing?

Content marketing is an approach that involves creating, maintaining, and distributing engaging, relevant, and useful content to a well-defined audience that generates "noise" or conversations about that content. That is because customers today are already tired of useless messages, spam, and cheap advertising.

Content marketing is also considered another form of journalism and publicity, which creates deep connections between brands and customers. Brands that implement good content marketing give customers access to high-quality content while telling compelling stories in the process. Content marketing changes the role of advertisers, who move from promoters to storytellers.

Content marketing wants to capture the customer for the business, making them aware of their product, increasing lead generation. If you like cooking and when you are using your social networks see an article titled "10 simple and sophisticated recipes for those who have little time." at first the subject is in your best interest and the information may be helpful to you, and so you'll probably want to read the post. After reading, you may want to subscribe to the site to receive new posts.

That is content marketing; the site has the data of a potential customer without making a without making direct advertising. The company's goal is to generate knowledge about its brand with no direct advertisement. When companies advertise, there is a high chance that potential customers will reject content and will not sign up or sign up to receive new messages.

To create effective content marketing:

1. Set your goal: What do you want to achieve with this campaign? Increase your brand awareness or increase your sales?

2. Map your audience: what is the profile of customers? What are their desires?

3. Content planning and idealization: what is the central theme of the content and which path should it be followed?

4. Content creation: who will create this content? When will it be created?

5. Content distribution: where do you want to do the distribution?

6. Amplification of the content: what is your plan to leverage content and to interact with the customer?

7. Content marketing evaluation: Has your campaign been successful? What metrics were used to measure?

8. Improved content marketing: How can you improve?

How Multichannel Marketing Works

The current trend is for the customer to use more than one channel to buy and relate to the company. How many times have you entered a store, searched for a product, and checked the price of the online store on Google's mobile phone? The past idea that having a good online presence is enough, it fell apart. Nowadays, it is important that the company tries to establish both online and off-line. The challenge here is the integration of the technologies of both worlds: the physical store should be a complement to the virtual world, both should work well together. The famous Starbucks coffee shop network, for example, works well with this multi-channel concept. The company developed an application for the customer to sign up their card and choose their coffee from the cell phone. When the client is one kilometer away from a Starbucks, the application advises the attendant to prepare the order without it having to face queues. Companies that can use this trend efficiently will have significant competitive advantages.

The New Buyer's Journey

The objective the new journey of the user is to lead the client from the moment he becomes aware of his brand until the moment he starts to defend and represent it. The steps of this journey are represented by the following 5 A's:

• Aware: At this point, you need to let the customer know that your brand exists in the world. You can achieve this in some ways - like advertisements, social networks, Adwords, blogs, etc.

• Appeal: Here, you need to demonstrate your differential for the prospect. That means you need to stand out from your competitors - whether by design, company values and vision or any other feature that catches the attention of the potential consumer.

• Ask: At this stage, your potential customer will research your company. He can do a Google search, ask some acquaintance or friend and look up information in the online communities. This point is crucial and the main reason for brands to maintain a good relationship with online communities - positive searches will influence their potential consumer, making them want to proceed with the business

• Act: This is the stage of purchase. The user acts as paying for the product, closing the purchase. But in general, it only comes here if the result of your search has been positive.

• Advocate: This is the post-sale stage. Customers who are satisfied with the product and with the company's relationship will defend it.

The Zone O

The Zone O represents the sources of influence of a person in decision-making. These sources are:

• Own: These are the negative or positive experiences each has had with each brand. The company cannot have control over this source.

• Other: Is the information acquired in the 'Ask' phase of the five A's. These sources help in the final decision of the customer. The company also has no control over these sources.

• Outer: They are the sources of information received by the digital and traditional communication channels. The company only has control over this source. The company needs to position itself well in these three sources, maintaining a good relationship with the customers and leaving them satisfied. Think about how your company positions itself within each of these sources. What does the online community talk about your product? Understanding each one of them and improving their positioning can help you succeed.

New Marketing And Productivity Metrics

Another important shift brought about by digital marketing is related to productivity metrics. In this new era, it is much simpler to measure your company's results and use them to your advantage. Two critical metrics for the digital age are the Purchase Action Ration or PAR and the brand advocates (Brand Advocacy Ration) or BAR.

The use of PAR is already widespread and necessary, but BAR came up with marketing 4.0. In BAR, what matters is the number of people who defend your brand.

The PAR is found by the number of purchases in the period divided by the total number of customers who remember your brand (aware customers).

As for BAR, it is found when you divide the number of people who would recommend your brand to the total number of customers who remember it.

These two metrics are very important to any company that wants to succeed in the digital age.

Improving Your Performance

Some tips to improve your performance by following these steps:

Increase your traction percentage: Always be seen by your audience and increase your presence on social networks. Find new ways to relate to users and wherever they are.

Optimize curiosity: Use creative content and attract your customer efficiently. You need to generate useful and relevant content for potential consumers.

Increase your commitment: Have a purpose and commit to it. Try to create a connection with your customersthrough that purpose.

Increase your affinity with the customer: Customers want to have contact with companies. Individuals and want to be treated with uniqueness. Do not send automated or robotic messages. Talk to your customer, show that there is someone behind the brand! That is a way to create a bond with it, and it will help you increase your number of advocates.

User-Centered Marketing

Your company needs to relate to customers as close people and not as numbers or goals to be achieved. To do this, develop two characteristics in your team: listening with empathy and immersive research. Listening with empathy helps you to listen and make yourself present in the conversation. Listen to consumer issues and take the opportunity to connect. Immersive research is the complement of listening with empathy. In it, you need to approach the customer and talk to him. It's a great opportunity to understand how your product is used and to have feedback from customers to improve it.

Use Mobile To Your Advantage

We currently spend more time on their cell phone than on the computer or television. That's why it's very important that you mark your presence on smartphones. Having an application is no longer a differential but a requirement to please customers. If you know how to use this tool in your favor, you can stand out from competitors: you can capture consumer data, maintain a relationship channel, promote your brand, and more.

The WOW Moment

That is the moment when you surprise the customer and causes a positive reaction in it. An example of this was Nubank. A woman sent a message to the company after her young son knocked over her cell phone and she could not pay a bill. Customer service sent her a cell case to the client to protect her device and sympathized with her loss. Many were delighted with the company's answering service and shared the post on Facebook. Winning companies are those who do not forget to provoke WOW moments in their customers.

Final Notes:

With the emergence of the internet, physical restrictions no longer exist for companies and brands. The size of your business and the massive investments are no longer decisive for a brand to become known in the digital world. This scenario gives companies the opportunity to grow but also increases the level of market competitiveness. So if you want to stand out, you need to adapt to this new era and seek to excel in the digital world.

12min tip: How about reading 'Marketing 3.0', also by Philip Kotler?