The Testing Times Continue
By: Raja Rajamannar
Source: WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS
Marketing will have to demonstrate value in 2023 as the global economy slows, says WFA President and Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Raja Rajamannar.
No one would disagree that marketing has had some tough times recently. The good news is that those testing times are due to continue.
I say good news because tough times are when marketing most needs to prove its value. Testing times force us into good habits and ensure that we demonstrate our impact both externally and internally. By contrast, when the economy is growing fast, the temptation to slowly abandon best practice can grow as life gets a bit easier.
As marketers, we know how critical our skills are as both interpreters of consumer expectation and identifiers of the next big opportunity. We know we must constantly reimagine and reinvent ourselves, continuously learning and advancing our expertise. Retraining and retaining top talent will be critical in 2023 and well beyond. When technology and data are prolific, what will set your brand apart is your team’s ability – and creativity – to leverage these technologies to win for your company.
What we have traditionally been less good at is demonstrating how our skills and our activations drive company growth. As we head into a year with a lot of uncertainty, it will be critical for marketers to be able to credibly connect the dots between marketing actions and business outcomes. It will not only help prove ROI to the C-suite, but also prove that dialing down marketing investments will have a negative impact.
That means we must establish effective measurement of nascent platforms and technologies such as the metaverse. This is critical if we are to understand our impact and to consider such investments as part of a broader marketing mix.
Customer is king or queen
The need for marketing to be customer-centric is never so important as when times are tough. It’s more important than ever that we can act as advocates for our customers with our business and ensure that our products and services meet their ever-changing needs.