5 Key Traits of Modern Marketing

During the last two decades, marketing has changed beyond recognition. Originally handling art, copy and print campaigns, marketing as a craft has been disrupted by digital transformation. Today, it is all about technology. It involves collecting data, segmenting audiences, analyzing behaviour and automating content and campaigns across numerous different channels. 

Luckily, marketers have gained access to a plethora of new tools that are easily available to anyone. Tools that used to be available only to the likes of Google and Facebook now empower even the smallest of marketing departments, enabling them to measure, analyze and automate data. This has created a level playing field for every marketer willing to invest in the right skills.

As a digital agency, we work in close collaboration with marketing departments to help them establish a modern operation to achieve their objectives. And although every set of goals may require its own unique approach, we have identified a number of key characteristics successful marketing departments have in common.

1. Technology as a foundation

Let’s face it - today’s marketing department is no longer relevant without technology. Marketers simply can no longer afford to take tech for granted in their day-to-day operations. The modern marketer needs to stay on top of new developments and take ownership of their ideal tech-stack in order to run a successful operation. Instead of delegating tasks, modern marketing departments collaborate with IT and digital partners at every level. 

By fully embracing digital in all its definitions the modern CMO can truly contribute to pushing the organisation forward.

CMOs therefore have to start thinking like CTOs. The tech-savvy CMO acts as a strategic partner to both the board and technical partners. By fully embracing digital in all its definitions - not just as one-off IT projects but rather as reflecting an integrated approach to business performance and customer and employee experience - the modern CMO can truly contribute to pushing the organisation forward.

Modern CMOs never stop evaluating and optimizing the marketing technology stack and integrating it with other systems the organization uses to monitor and analyze business performance. Real-time data and analytics offer plenty of opportunities to constantly iterate and optimize.

2. The power of websites

Websites have gotten so commonplace that they often tend to be taken for granted - sometimes even overlooked. However, the website remains the most powerful tool in your technology stack. It’s the endpoint for every online campaign and converts visits into transactions.

Getting the website right lays a solid foundation for the entire marketing operation.

Given its importance as a marketing tool, website quality is increasingly important. Getting the website right lays a solid foundation for the entire marketing operation. A successful website not only features quality content but is stable, performant and flexible in order to scale effortlessly. It obviously has to look great. The quality of digital design and development have become crucial factors for success and it is ultimately up to the CMO to ensure top quality by selecting the right digital agency for long-term collaboration. 

3. Agile marketing

In order to operate effectively, it is important to work in small decentralized teams with decision-making authority. In combination with clearly defined KPIs, this agile approach is critical for moving with speed and to focus on creating value. Organizing small squads of experts around specific objectives and having them work alongside each other ensures that everyone on the team is connected and little overhead.

Another crucial ingredient for successful agile marketing is broad organizational support. Without supportive participation from other departments and outside partners, agile marketing teams are confined to small experiments with limited impact. We often collaborate with these teams as if they are part of our client’s organization.

4. Talent management

Modern marketing requires a wide range of skills in order to be effective. The increasingly complex array of data, tools and expertise has made management of talent and technical partners a constant balancing act. 

In today’s marketing department, statistical analysis may be just as important as the ability to write content that converts. Training and personal development might well be fundamental in any marketer’s job description.

5. The agency partnership

A digital agency is able to provide expertise and manpower while ensuring an impartial eye on the overall strategy. Given a sufficient scale, there is a tendency to hire in-house when ownership of data and technology is crucial. For smaller scale companies, the rapid pace of technological advancements makes a trustworthy digital partner a critical factor of success.

Finding the right partner goes beyond looking at portfolios or accolades. It’s about finding the right match with the people you will be working with.

Similar to finding the right talent for open positions, there are many factors involved in finding the perfect agency as an outside partner. As close collaboration is an important factor for success, we believe that finding the right partner goes beyond looking at portfolios or accolades. It’s about finding the right match with the people you will be working with.

As a creative digital agency, we have the expertise and the network of specialists to act as a digital transformation partner for every CMO. It is our enduring ambition to sit on the cutting edge of data, creativity and technology in order to provide a perfectly customized set of services for every marketing department. We expect to work in close collaboration, so the better the personal match, the bigger the impact we make.

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