Strategic Marketers Needed In Confusing and Uncertain Times

The only thing clear in this confusing time of global conflicts, political uncertainty, climate crisis, and disruptive technologies is the need for radically new business thinking and strategies. Clearly, strategic marketers must play an important role, as they possess the analytic and creative skills needed to develop paths to sustainable business growth and profitability.

NAVIGATE UNCERTAINTY

We’ve entered a period where virtually every business has been impacted by the disruptions and fears starting with COVID-19 and continuing today. Importantly, we can’t rely on the past to predict the future. As econometrics say, there has been a structural break in the data patterns and trajectories. Navigating this uncertainty requires intelligent strategy to discover new opportunities and avoid potential obstacles

While this end of business-as-usual is unsettling, particularly for established brands, it creates opportunities for companies to gain market share, surpass competitors, and launch new products and services. This will require bold strategic thinking and decisive action to seize opportunities created by new and unmet market needs. As UCLA Professor, Richard Rumelt, wrote in the McKinsey Quarterly after the 2008/2009 Financial Crisis:

“A structural break is the very best time to be a strategist for at the moment of change old sources of competitive advantage weaken and new sources appear.”

ANALYSIS, INSIGHTS, AND EMPATHY

Marketing strategist are particularly capable of identifying new opportunities and potential obstacles when the path is uncertain. First, they know how to find patterns and insights from vast databases, including in-store check-out scanner data, media research,  and online behavioral metrics.

Second, they know how to conduct research to test assumptions and measure viable strategic approaches. Important in this volatile, uncertain world will be to implement strategies quickly and to monitor and test how they are working for further refinement.

In addition, marketers have theoretical frameworks and methodologies to determine and measure the market forces at work. Equally important, in their strategic toolkit, they have many methodologies to examine the underlying beliefs and emotions driving people’s actions.

Our firm utilizes primary research, secondary research, industry experts to create USAccelerator Market Maps™ to analyze market dynamics, competitors, and customers’ unmet needs. We also use multi-country quantitative research to create USAccelerator Culture Maps™ to analyze cultural and behavioral components of markets. This approach is particularly valuable and insightful in periods of rapid change and structural breaks, which we currently are experiencing. While it is an evidence-based approach, it focuses on the current situation and isn’t misled by historical data and old patterns of business. As we recently expressed to a senior executive:

“Every business and non-profit organization should think and act as if they are entering a new market, because so much has changed since the start of the Coronavirus crisis and continues today.”

NEW CREATIVE IDEAS

In addition to strong analytic and strategic skills, these times demand exceptional creative skills and fresh thinking. Strategic marketers are needed to both create these ideas and to lead others in developing new products, services, and marketing programs that propel the organization forward.

In Spring 2020, I taught a graduate course on Competitive Strategy at NYU’s Integrated Marketing and Communication Program.  We discussed the impact of COVID-19 on business and the implication for marketers in our virtual classroom. I pointed out how some marketers were finding new ways to add value for customers and find competitive advantage. One student told us about local restaurants that were providing highly desired, hard to find toilet paper with home delivery orders.   

The class then brainstormed other ideas for the struggling restaurant industry.  One group came up with the strategy for a restaurant to increase transparency and assure customers of the cleanliness and safety of food preparation. They proposed installing cameras in the restaurant’s kitchen that enabled people to view their food being prepared on a website and in-store displays. Another group of students recommended that restaurants segment customers in new ways to deliver targeted experiences. For example, they asked why couldn’t a restaurant create special events and seating sections for people who tested negative to COVID-19?

MOVING FORWARD

One thing that does seem certain: strategic marketers are needed in this uncertain time.  We need both the knowledge and proven methodologies from experienced marketers and fresh thinking and radical creative ideas from diverse and new sources of marketing talent.

MATTHEW SAWYER originally written in May 2020 and updated January 2024

Illustration by Jacquie Boyd for The Guardian, April 2023