Recently, a distinguished MBA professor at Rotman’s School of Management told me that “Marketers that don’t have digital skills won’t have a job in 15 years.”
Quite prophetic. And, arguably, too optimistic a timeframe. We may not even have that long to enter and compete in the digital age. And worse still is that the term digital is almost outdated. Newer, edgier folks now refer to digital marketing as ‘Growth Hacking.’ Beyond that, the world of wearables is exploding where the Internet of Things (IoT) is about to become a household term. 15 years ago I started my career; degree in hand and bursting with optimism. The internet was new, and we all talked about this exciting term called e-commerce. Everything was dial-up back then, and the coolest product Apple sold was their triangle shaped iMac G3 (remember those?). Mark Zuckerberg was a high school sophomore. The term social meant good old fashioned talking to people.
I’m not old – not really. But technology is moving at such breakneck speeds that in relative terms, I’m a dinosaur. Everything I learned in school – save the fundamentals – is out of date. Entire product cycles have been realized, and technology companies like Blackberry have risen, fallen, and (hopefully) will rise again on the strength of their technology products.
So, in this age of digital, what’s a marketer to do?
There are three fundamentals that all marketers (Luddites, Growth Hackers, and everyone in between) need to know.
- It’s a Millennial World. Baby Boomers invented the face-to-face/relationship-building meetings. X-ers rebelled slightly, and created a mild middle ground between technology adapters and good old fashioned business practices. But it’s the Gen Y/Millennials that are re-inventing everything. These consumers grew up texting and tweeting, and expect most encounters to have a digital focus. Whether that’s an Uber-like interface on their smartphone or a wearable communications device, Gen Ys expect and demand more.
- Traditional marketing isn’t obsolete, exactly. People – Baby Boomers, X-ers, and Ys still buy from people. Relationships are still being built, and the number one reason why consumers build a relationship with a supplier or brand is trust. Print is still an essential element to (most) marketing campaigns. Traditional advertising like radio and outdoor are still very effective ways to convey messages, but now must be coupled by a digital component.
- It’s the Age of Convenience – it’s not that it’s a digital world (though it is), but it’s about facilitating the ease of decision making and purchasing. Marketers that understand this will rise. Companies that ignore this will fall. The fundamental truth is that in order to continue to bring convenience to consumers, digital platforms such as mobile are absolutely key.
How can we keep up with the expectations of consumers and the speed of innovation? To stay relevant, we have no choice but to evolve. But how do we gain a comprehensive knowledge of the digital world and all that entails when words like ‘growth hacking’ and ‘inbound’ are all the rage?
The good news is that we don’t need to become experts in these areas. Instead, here’s the most important preparation we can undertake to meet this (re)evolution. It’s simple, and the best advice I’ve ever received:
Have a healthy thirst for knowledge, a passion for marketing, and a commitment to lifelong learning. A marketer’s job is never done, and the minute we become complacent in our ability to connect with existing customers and acquire new ones is the exact moment we become obsolete. After the digital revolution, it’ll be a wearable one, and on and on.
Turns out, we don’t need to be experts – there will always be specialists for that – but we need to know enough to maneuver in that world. We need to be ready for the products and platforms that haven’t even been launched yet and the ideas that haven’t been thought yet.
Because I’d really like us all to have jobs in 15 years.