Marketing and Technology

Marketing is regarded by a myriad of corporate professionals and academics alike as an integral part of a business organization as it is the one overly responsible for converting all prior processes into money (Morgan, 2012). Technological innovations on the other hand are also viewed as key in shaping up the trajectory of the current and future business marketing strategies (Jordan, 2017). It is against this background that this paper seeks to explore the authenticity of the assertion that, “In any business the marketing aspect plays a pivotal role in the success of that particular business and should embrace technology to be able to understand the new generation customer and position the organization in the economy. The modern marketer must understand the new customer who has changed with technology.” This paper will look briefly into operational definitions of technology, marketing and marketing technology. An argument in support of the above assertion will be given followed by an antithesis, both of which will be supported by examples to substantiate the arguments. A personal analysis of the discourse will conclude the paper.

Marketing can be defined as the management process in which goods or services move from being a concept to the customer and involves the product, price, place and promotional strategy (Business Dictionary, 2018). Marketing involves basically four factors that are interrelated which are communication, goods and/or services, money and information (Kotler, 2002). Technology is defined as a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2018). Marketing technology can be defined as the tools and platforms used by sales and marketing organizations to effectively complete their duties (Quarck, 2017).

 (Kotler, 2002) argues that the changes happening in the world are taking place at an alarmingly accelerated rate that organizations have to adapt or face a bleak future. In that vein he argues that technological orientation coupled by a global outlook and deregulation will ensure the survival and success of the current and future business entity. Thus based on that argument it becomes evident that business entities cannot remain stagnant in a dynamic business environment, they have to be innovative and adaptive to avoid Marketing strategic decay and strategic obsolescence. Hence the assertion under review can thus said to be true.

Marketing technology is of importance in conducting research and development of products as the new customer is regarded as techno savvy. Traditionally market research and development entailed paper questionnaire and moving around of people over a large geographical area, which was both time consuming and expensive. In a rapidly dynamic business environment time is of great essence as technological advancement call for real-time responses to market demands. Due to marketing technology, marketing data collection, interpretation and analysis tools like Survey Monkey, SWOT, SPSS, Tableau and many others are greatly being used. These ensure timeous market research and response. Therefore, technology plays an important role in the understanding of the new customer.

Communication technology is also a trend that has been embraced the world over transcending all aspects of life. Thus for the modern marketer to remain relevant it is imperative that he or she makes effective use of information communication technology in order to be responsive to the needs of customers. In Zimbabwe the postal and mailing system is no longer as efficient as it was before and using regular mail for marketing purposes has become archaic. With the postal system taking anything between two to three weeks to deliver mail, information at times loses relevance with time. In response Zimbabwean marketers have adopted the use of international trends by using cookies and mailing lists to disseminate information to the new customer. Cookies are unsolicited pop-ups that appear on computer and phone screens when one is connected to the internet, whilst a mailing list is an email database of customers or potential customers who would have willingly subscribed to receive communication. This ensures that the new customer is kept abreast with information relevant to the business entity or product. Thus technology is key in the quest of the modern marketer to communicate with the new customer and ensure organizational continuity and success.

Technology has also become useful when it comes to information availability. Information availability entails access to relevant information as and when needed. Most companies have now adopted the use of websites were all relevant company, product and service industry can be easily available. Of importance though is also the availability of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page where responses to popular questions are posted such that customers have ready access to information. Most companies in Zimbabwe have also embraced the concept of hotlines and call centers so as to answer unique questions which might not have been provided for on FAQ pages. Econet Wireless, Telone and Netone all now have a 24-hour call Centre to allow their customers to communicate with them any time of the day regarding their products and services and address any grievances if there are any. Hence Information Communication Technology has become of cast utility to the modern marketer in trying to understand the new customer.

The embracing of technology in advertising is also key in the need of the modern marketer to better position the business entity and its products and services. The purpose of advertising is to firstly create awareness (of the products or services), secondly create interest in the customer to know more about the product, thirdly generate a desire by the customer to want or need the product and fourthly incite action to purchase the product. Research indicates that in 2017 people on average spent 135 minutes on social media (Statista, 2018). Marketing technology now thus plays an important role in advertising due to the advent of social media and e-platforms. Social media allows for companies to advertise their products through groups, sponsored pages or even social media for business (Solis, 2012). WhatsApp and Facebook social media applications have a number of marketing groups, platforms and corporate pages for the purposes of advertising. Social media presence is now key in advertising as most of the customers or potential customers have a social media presence. Therefore, the modern marketer has to embrace social media technology in order to best advertise to the new customer.

The modern marketer needs to incorporate technology in product and service distribution in order to reach out to the new customer.  This entails having options for the new customer to make remote or online purchases and orders and not necessarily have to visit the physical store. International companies that have succeeded using this model include Amazon, Alibaba Express, eBay and Walmart. In Zimbabwe telecommunication companies, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), and Hammer and Tongues Online Shopping Mall have embraced distribution technology in their efforts position their organizations with the new customer. This gives flexibility of purchase without the restrictions of shop operating hours and without having to physically visit the shop. Given the flexibility of distribution that technology brings, it thus becomes important for the modern marketer to embrace it to ensure business success.

The new customer is someone who enjoys technological flexibility in making payments. Flexibility in making payments in this instance entails the availability of various ways to initiate a payment other than the physical exchange of hard currency. The physical exchange of money requires travelling by either the marketer or the customer (Byrnes, 2015). By embracing payment technology such as mobile money (Telecash, Ecocash, Netcash, One money or M-Pesa), PayPal, Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Electron), Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, ethereum, Petrocoin) and Google Pay, the new customer is given flexibility of payment and is able to remotely pay for goods or services. This thus means that embracing technology in payments would assist the modern marketer in the quest to meet the demands of the new customer.

A key incentive to the use of marketing technology is that it is cheap and greatly convenience (Patel, 2016). Financial bottom-lines are key performance indicators of any business organization. Thus by embracing marketing technology a business entity can significantly cut on its marketing costs thereby unlocking financial resources to be directed to other projects and ensuring organizational success. Convenience brought to both the modern marketer and the new customer by the adoption of marketing technology is reciprocally of mutual benefit to both parties as it brings convenience to both. Therefore, Marketing technology is pivotal to the success of a business entity.

However, the use of marketing technology might niche the market and reduce the overall market share of the business entity. This is because not all customers are techno savvy and the traditional customer might be excluded by marketing that is techno-centric. For example, some people in rural areas of Zimbabwe might not have technologically advanced gadgets or might not be techno savvy enough to be able to benefit or utilize marketing technologies. This thus means they might have to buy products or services which are marketed in traditional ways.

In light of the above discourse it is apparent that the embracing of marketing technology is pivotal for business success and positions the organization such that the modern marketer is better able to understand the new customer. This juxtaposes the embracing of marketing technology as a panacea to some of the traditional marketing related problems business entities face in trying to create a successful marketing strategy.

 

 

 

 

References

Business Dictionary. (2018, April 27). Marketing. Retrieved from Business Dictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing.html

Byrnes, N. (2015, January 26). New Technologies Can Change Payments and the Economy. Retrieved from Massachusettes Institute of Technology Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/534046/new-technologies-can-change-payments-and-the-economy/

Jordan, T. (2017, March 27). The Content Strategist. Retrieved from The 3 Most Important Reasons Marketers Use Marketing Technology: https://contently.com/strategist/2017/03/27/3-reasons-use-marketing-technology/

Kotler, P. (2002). Marketing Management Mellenium Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2018, April 27). Technology. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology

Morgan, N. A. (2012). Marketing and business performance. Academy of Marketing Science.

Patel, R. (2016, November 7). 5 Dirt Cheap Yet Effective Marketing Strategies for Startups. Retrieved from Marketheed: http://www.marketheed.com/blog/5-dirt-cheap-yet-effective-marketing-strategies-for-startups

Quarck. (2017). WHAT IS MARKETING TECHNOLOGY? LEARN ABOUT THE MEANING, METHODS AND STRATEGIES FOR MARKETING TECHNOLOGY. Retrieved from Docurated: http://www.docurated.com/knowledge/what-is-marketing-technology/

Solis, B. (2012, September 10). Are you connecting with your new generation of customers? Retrieved from Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com/2012/09/are-you-connecting-with-your-new-generation-of-customers-generation-c/

Statista. (2018, February). Statista. Retrieved from Daily time spent on social networking by internet users worldwide from 2012 to 2017 (in minutes): https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/