MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS

Modern marketing - 6 opportunities for multidisciplinary teams

The traditional business-as-usual approach to marketing no longer brings the desired results. In modern marketing, professionals must have a wide range of skills and prefer collaboration. Organizations expect more from marketing organizations with fewer resources. Budgets are being scrutinized, teams are becoming leaner, and executives are looking to chief marketing officers (CMOs) to drive the next wave of growth.
Although there is a tension between growth and efficiency, they should not be seen as mutually exclusive. In order to maximize the return on every dollar spent, organizations must create more personalized and meaningful connections with customers at every stage of the interaction. Leaders who successfully do this can increase the efficiency of marketing spending by 10-30% and contribute to an increase in revenue by two to three percent.

To succeed, it is necessary to implement effective modern marketing based on data and value. This requires a customer-centric paradigm, as well as the appropriate tools and capabilities for large-scale implementation. Companies fail because their marketers do not have sufficient skills to use the available tools or do not know how to collaborate effectively. Implementing modern marketing requires consistency and a focus on data and values. The success of the company and its ability to take a leading position in the market depend on it. Marketing organizations face some gaps that limit the effectiveness of their marketing spend and the efficiency of their teams and technology. According to the McKinsey Modern Marketing Model M3 study, 81% of companies do not have an integrated marketing technology stack capable of delivering personalized experiences across all channels. In addition, 76% of companies cannot successfully sprint or do not follow formal agile processes. Another 67% of CMOs say they are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of marketing data available to them. These limitations create challenges for marketing organizations, but also open up opportunities for process improvement and the development of new technologies.

The marketing landscape is changing, and CMOs need to rethink the skills of their employees to meet these changes. Modern marketers must be both masters of their craft and able to do everything. They need to understand data science, marketing, and creativity. They also need to be able to work in cross-functional teams and utilize new tools and technologies. Unfortunately, not all companies are keeping up with these changes. As a result, many marketing efforts are not effective. For example, one company hired a data analytics specialist to improve its capacity to measure the impact of its campaigns. However, the data analytics team did not understand the problems that the brand marketers were trying to solve. The models they created were too detailed or identified variables that marketers could not work with. At the same time, brand marketers did not know how to translate business or market issues into the language of data science. This is just one example of what can happen when companies don't rethink the skills of their employees. To compete successfully in today's marketing landscape, companies must build a team of employees who have a wide range of skills and can work together effectively.

Here are six interdisciplinary competencies that will help marketers shape the future of their sector:

Data science: Marketers need to understand data science to make informed decisions. They need to be able to collect and analyze data, and use that data to create effective marketing campaigns.
Marketing: Marketers need to understand the basics of marketing, such as market segmentation, positioning, and communication. They must be able to develop and implement marketing strategies and campaigns that reach target audiences.
Creativity: Marketers need to be creative to create attractive and effective marketing materials. They must be able to think outside the box and find new ways to achieve their goals.
Teamwork: Marketers need to be able to work in cross-functional teams. They need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively with people from different areas, such as sales, finance, and product development.
Use of new tools and technologies: Marketers need to be aware of the latest trends in marketing and know how to use new tools and technologies to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Companies that can build a team of employees with these interdisciplinary competencies will have a significant advantage over their competitors. They will be able to develop and implement more effective marketing campaigns that achieve greater results.

An effective T-shaped marketing model

Effective marketing that drives customer engagement requires a new level of collaboration and coordination between different functional partners. For example, dynamic personalization and detailed measurement cannot be limited to a single channel. They should be applied at all stages of customer interaction, from paid channels to branded properties. Proper cross-functional collaboration and effective use of available data and tools require marketers with a deep understanding of the various marketing functions. Modern marketing opportunities are a challenge for skills and talent. Most employees in marketing organizations may have expertise in certain areas, but nowadays it is necessary to be competent in many areas.

The new marketing superpower is interdisciplinary competence in six main areas:

Customer focus: Marketers need to understand the needs and wants of their customers and develop marketing campaigns that meet those needs.
Full-cycle marketing: Marketers must understand the entire cycle of customer interaction with the company, from the first contact to repeat purchases.
Flexible operating model: Marketers need to be able to quickly adapt to changing market conditions and develop marketing campaigns that respond to those changes.
Omnichannel excellence: Marketers must be able to use different channels to engage with customers, including digital, offline, and social channels.
Measurement: Marketers should be able to measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and draw conclusions for future campaigns.
Customer data and marketing technologies: Marketers need to be able to collect and analyze customer data and use it to create effective marketing campaigns.

Marketers who have interdisciplinary competencies in these six areas will be most in demand in the future. They will be able to create marketing campaigns that create deep connections with customers and achieve the best business results.
By leveraging such opportunities, marketers will be able to develop a "T-shaped" skill set that combines deep industry expertise with a wide range of skills. The main goal is not to turn data analysts into brand marketers or vice versa. Instead, we strive to build bridges of understanding and improve communication, to enable more creativity, faster problem solving, and synergies.

In this new paradigm, brand marketers are starting to get comfortable with using automation tools to activate and measure campaigns. IT and analytics teams will learn what customers want, how to reach them, and what important questions to answer about them.

One of the world's leading brands was proud to have customer data from all its sales channels. However, the company did not have a holistic view of its customers. Information from different channels was not linked, and critical behavioral data was missing in interpreting customer behavior. There was significant untapped capacity in terms of identifying optimal strategies for prioritizing and attracting customer attention.

To connect all aspects, the company has created a new technology stack - a robust database that unites all channels, an analytical engine to support customer prioritization and targeting, and tools to personalize customer journeys. Segmentation was reoriented from product to customer, and a new operating model was created to combine different marketing areas in "win rooms". Brand marketers, e-commerce specialists, analysts, and creatives collaborated using new measurement tools and a test-and-learn approach. The result was millions in additional revenue.

However, the company realized that this was not enough. In order to leverage new analytics and measurement tools, a test-and-learn culture, and an agile operating model at all levels of the organization, she needed to create new capabilities and extend them across the company. A comprehensive digital skills development program was held, including on-demand digital training, interactive workshops, practical work in real-world conditions, and scenario testing. This helped develop not only the skills of marketers working with the new tools, but also the broader teams that were key to unlocking the value of these advances at scale.

Steps to success

Companies that have succeeded in developing and maintaining a modern marketing capability prioritize the development of new skills and strive to ensure that marketers have a clear understanding of the opportunities. While it is tempting to quickly increase capacity by hiring a leader or acquiring a smaller company, such rapid changes are almost always unsustainable. Simplified approaches to hiring, acquiring, and upskilling are the most effective, with an emphasis on the latter, namely upskilling and training. These successes are based on several key principles.

Strategic priorities

First of all, it is necessary to make the development of marketing capabilities a top strategic priority. This means that companies need to recognize the value of this process and declare it a revenue imperative, not just an expense. For example, a multinational consumer goods company, in order to strengthen its capabilities, made sure to conduct an effective digital marketing course for all employees, including top managers, which demonstrated the seriousness of their commitment.

Combining efforts

It is also worth paying attention to the combination of efforts between teams. Not only digital team members and traditional brand marketers need to develop their skills. Successful companies expand their training programs to include key stakeholders and cross-functional partners, both internal and external. For example, a global restaurant brand invites its agency partners to participate in training and seminars with its own marketers so that everyone understands new modern marketing opportunities and ways of working.
In summary, developing marketing capabilities requires a deep understanding and priority from the company's management, as well as collaboration between teams to maximize the use of new knowledge and skills throughout the organization.

Utilizing best practices

For a successful marketing training program to be successful, it must not only help marketers learn new skills, but also ensure that they are applied and supported over time. Best practices are hybrid modes that combine self-paced digital learning, live workshops to practice and apply concepts, field work related to everyday challenges, and on-the-job training and coaching. An international consumer goods company has created a comprehensive digital marketing training course to strengthen its capabilities. It started with basic online training modules available to everyone, and then offered deeper training to apply new knowledge to the work of marketers. The company also organized "lunch and learns" and seminars with experts to discuss and exchange views. The use of testing and individualized training is another successful approach. The food giant first tested its curriculum in one market, then adapted and supplemented it before scaling it to another market. The global scale of the program has led to a significant increase in participant satisfaction. It's important to ensure that marketers not only learn new knowledge, but also that new practices and habits are supported and reinforced in the long run so that they can successfully implement new ideas and strategies in the company.

Continuous capacity development

The constant development of new marketing skills requires companies to constantly update and expand their training programs. Marketing is evolving along with changes in customer paths and expectations, so companies should put marketing skills development at the center of their strategy. The international consumer goods company understands the importance of adapting to change. Their development program includes topics related to the latest trends, such as commercial media. The company has also added hands-on training, allowing employees to try out new commercial media platforms.

Celebrating victories is also an important incentive for cultural change in the company. When marketers see the results of their work and the value of new approaches, they are more proactive in implementing changes. For example, creating a cross-functional team to develop new products has helped to achieve success by thoroughly testing and measuring different versions of content. It also brought "numbers people" and "creative people" closer together and showed how creative risk-taking can lead to significant results. To summarize, companies should actively update and expand their training programs, engage their employees in new training initiatives, and use the successes to drive cultural change throughout the organization.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for developing marketing potential. Each organization must find its own right approach to help it reduce campaign time, attract more customers, and save money. Effective marketing knowledge and skills development programs can be an important investment in both the success of the marketing team and the overall success of the company. They can help to increase the productivity and efficiency of marketing efforts, which is important for achieving success in the market.