Are You Ready For Big Change, Big Data And Big Actions?

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a Marketing Exec Forum with Shelly Palmer, author of Digital Wisdom: Thought Leadership for a Connected World. The event spanned an evening and the following day, and while I can’t do justice to all of the ground we covered in this one blog post, I do want to highlight a few key points. As we discussed at the Forum, marketers need to:

• Recognize change is accelerating. In his book, Shelly points out that both technology and connectivity are getting more powerful and less expensive –at a rate faster than we’ve ever experienced before.  “ . . . according to Intel Corporation, there are over 2 billion people connected to the Internet. By 2015, there will be 3 billion, and by 2020, Intel projects that 4 billion people will be online worldwide. And according to Cisco Systems , by 2015, there will be over 15 billion connected devices worldwide.”

This “digital disruption” is dramatically changing the way we all live and work, and if you don’t start adapting, your business won’t be able to stay viable. (See a discussion about how digital disruption impacts customers in my earlier blog post.)

• Clearly define big data and data-driven marketing . . . and then set goals accordingly. Most CMOs I meet, whether they’re from a Fortune 50 or a Global 3000, admit they don’t have the big data insights they need, and they know that to drive change in their companies and improve the customer experience, they need to remedy those deficits –quickly.

Here’s some advice from the Forum: Think carefully about how big data and data-driven marketing can work for your business. Don't get caught-up with all the tools and tactics. Instead, focus on outcomes, and work to build pilots that give insight into action.  Remember this mantra: Execute. Evaluate. Evolve.

• Keep the spotlight on story and passion. During the forum, filmmaker Nirvan Mullick told us about Caine’s Arcade, the story of a nine-year-old boy’s cardboard arcade, located in his dad’s used auto parts store in East LA.  His narrative underscored the remarkable power at the intersection of ideas and technology –and how important it is to connect with your audience.

For marketing executives, these notions apply to making sure your company has strategies and processes around data both internally and externally (again, even if it begins with trial and error, and then fine-tune). There is some sense of urgency to “get going” because change is happening fast, and the opportunity to blend creativity with technology has never been greater. Marketers need to convince their companies to allow the floodgates to let loose, knowing that the reach of new ideas, even simple ones, is territory worth exploring courageously –provided, of course, you’re creating a customer experience that is genuine and true to your brand.

• Chart a course and carry out a plan. Need a jump start? Why not try Rapid Transformation: A 90-day Plan for Fast and Effective Change? Execs at the Forum agreed that if you carefully analyze your challenges and then chart a step-by-step course, you can successfully drive change within your organization. Every marketer –whether B2B or B2C –must come to terms with the fact that there is no turning back now. We’ve reached a point where we need a new breed of marketing innovator, leaders who can envision a different world, both internally and externally, for their teams and their customers.

So, I can't help but ask: Are you ready for big change, big data and big actions? How do you plan to succeed in a data-driven marketplace?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/raver_mikey/5738004105/sizes/m/in/photostream/