B2B MARKETING - DIGITAL MARKETING

Marketing is not digital

A recent blog post from an unlikely source titled “Stop using metrics – start focusing on closing business” got me thinking. Has digital marketing become a case of “the emperor’s new clothes"? Have we all become victims of the digital beast?

Have likes, followers, open rates and visits become the goal of marketing and a way for it to “prove ROI”? Is digital media on its own the answer to the CEO’s dreams? What actual impact on sales has all this activity had?

The core components of marketing are still true. Having a strong brand with a clear and consistent message; products developed based on the needs of the customer; acquiring and maintaining good data on customers and prospects; engaging with audiences based on relevancy and in different channels; supporting your case with different marketing evidence from varyied perspectives… The list goes on and we have not talked about a single media or channel! However, for some the media has become the message; trying to replace the fundamentals of marketing with the latest must have media.

Is it time to awaken from the digital dream? It is true that most of the channels and media we now employ are digital but "digital" won’t paper over the cracks if you have the fundamentals of marketing wrong. Marketing is only ever a cost when it does not work. And, not working in digital media is the same as not working in traditional media. Make sure you get real results no matter what the media.