In the digital age, what is marketing?
According to Christian Jacob, CMO at Efaflex Tor- und Sicherheitsysteme GmbH & Co. KG, with a passion for marketing, communication and e-commerce, “Be it digital or virtual era, as Walter B. Walser says, ‘Marketing is the most important activity for an entrepreneur. Almost everything else can be outsourced.’ To me, it is like playing a symphony.”
Mr Jacob explains, “In other words, let me tell you about marketing digitalization as a success factor: the four dimensions of marketing digitalization. Where does digitalization begin? “Where am I currently with my company? Am I doing everything right in marketing? And what are the first steps to improve my marketing strategy?”
Mr Jacob adds that digitalization brings with it many opportunities – but it also brings considerable uncertainties. “The factor “lack of skills/expertise” is seen as the number one obstacle to the strategic implementation of digitalization. What makes matters worse is that the world of digitalization represents a paradigm shift.”
Digitalization has an impact, and it is important for all industries to deal with this. However, the question of a strategy, a concrete to-do list to bring clarity and security to the supposed chaos, often remains unanswered.
Strategizing Chaos
It is where an influential CMO like Mr Jacob’s role gains importance. He guides brands through this chaos to sort the strategy into four fields. Mr Jacob explains:
*The world of digitalization: To operate successfully on a business stage, content, customs, interactions and relationships must first be identified. Digitalization means observing and understanding current social and technological developments, recognizing new digital approaches, and trying to derive future target group behavior from existing information.
He asks, “What can you do?
- Listen!
- Get an overview of the media offering!
- Define individually relevant topic areas!”
*Customer digitalization: You’re not the only one in the middle of digitalization—your customers are, too. To understand customers’ needs, it is extremely important to highlight which phase of development the customer’s company is in. Which customer digital changes affect your customer relationship? The answer to this question provides a basis for predicting your customers’ actions. Different levels of digitalization maturity from country to country may need to be considered.
What can you do?
- Listen to!
- Survey customers!
*Process digitalization (internal and external processes): The third field revolves around improving the company’s existing processes. In addition to your own processes, you need to pay attention to external processes, more precisely, customers, other companies, and agencies that directly affect your business.
Admittedly, this field is extensive and complex. You won’t be able to see the area at first. But every journey, no matter how long it may be, begins with the first step. Therefore, get started!
What can you do?
- Begin!
- Analyze internal and external processes, and pay attention to process speed!
- Build marketing platforms!
*Product digitalization: Product digitization is important, especially in the B2B sector. The integration of products into a network or into a smart factory will continue to differentiate it from the competition in the future. Smart factories organize themselves autonomously, and human intervention is usually not necessary. Digitalized products can communicate with their production facilities. It is important to find starting points for your production and product here.
What can you do?
- Develop!
- Make or buy decisions, says Mr Jacob.
A Journey into the Marketing Realm
Mr Jacob shares his journey to becoming a Chief Marketing Officer, including key milestones and experiences shaping his career path. He says it all began during his studies when his passion for marketing and communication was ignited. He says, “I quickly set out to deepen my knowledge in these areas.”
When he started working in this field, it became clear to Mr Jacob that he was not only interested in certain aspects of marketing but in orchestrating the interplay of marketing disciplines. He then defined an end-to-end responsibility as his goal. “Therefore, I intensified my focus on marketing leadership,” he adds. “To achieve this goal, which cannot be accomplished solely through my efforts, I was fortunate to have colleagues who accompanied me on the journey.” Leaders who were his role models and simultaneously took on the role of mentors. “They supported and challenged me, ultimately bringing me to where I am today.”
Mr Jacob furthers that leadership in marketing is largely a “people’s business.” And he enjoys working with people and convincing them of a goal or an idea. “But I also find great enthusiasm in creative ideas that come from the team.” Within corporate leadership, the books by Simon Sinek and the podcasts and speeches by Gary Vaynerchuk have strongly influenced his career and approach to issues. He draws much strength from interactions with other colleagues and employees. “This is very fulfilling and enjoyable for me. Being a CMO is not a 9 to 5 job, and every day is different. When all of this comes together, I am satisfied,” he says.
Leading the Squad
As a CMO, Mr Jacob’s approach to leading and motivating his marketing team to achieve their full potential is unique. He ardently believes that going the extra mile can only be achieved if one is willing to go it themselves. Leading by example is the key here. “I learned this method as an officer during my time in the military and have since made it a principle.” However, it is also about listening to people and allowing for different opinions. The principle of success here is to set boundaries and help colleagues achieve the goal within those boundaries. “From my perspective, employees must be free to make mistakes to learn from them.” A culture of learning from mistakes is crucial for success. “However, what must also be emphasized is that we always need a team to achieve the set goals. I compare my position to that of a conductor who ensures that the orchestra plays a symphony and there is not a confusion of instruments.”
Ever-Evolving Ethos
There are certain strategies Mr Jacob employs to stay ahead of industry trends and ensure that his marketing initiatives remain innovative and effective. He says listening and being attentive are crucial. Above all, one should focus on one’s industry, observe other areas, and try to develop different approaches. There are three things to consider:
- Observe the world of marketing and leadership and adopt new practices and methods.
- The resulting processes should be aligned with customer needs.
- Digitization should be driven forward from the customer’s perspective.
Marketing initiatives and processes are only truly effective when they are customer-centric.
“In my opinion, it’s important to be quiet when necessary and loud when the time comes.” Additionally, it’s extremely important to take employees on a journey that inspires them and to show them what their role is on this journey. “We can’t do everything alone, and we are only truly effective when everyone shares the same vision. We won’t succeed through micromanagement.” Giving employees space to grow and empowering them in their work is crucial. Furthermore, implementing a good culture of learning from mistakes is helpful.
“To balance creativity with data-driven decision-making in marketing strategies, our range of tasks extends from subject matter expertise in some areas to strategic corporate consulting and positioning.” It’s a very broad field. A crucial factor is correctly interpreting underlying data about customers, companies, competition, and markets. “From this, tasks and opportunities for our company arise, especially for marketing and communication.” These insights aid in the future alignment of marketing or even the company itself. The creativity process begins with the activation of insights to derive precise and customer-oriented marketing measures. However, experience in handling data and creativity is important in both aspects.
The Ultimate Goal
In short, as a leader in marketing, Mr Jacob fosters collaboration and alignment between marketing initiatives and broader business objectives. He says that the company’s goal is at the forefront. Goals for marketing and communication stem from this. There must always be a causal relationship between overarching goals and those of marketing, whether they arise from company positioning or sales objectives in lead marketing. Furthermore, regular intervals should be established to evaluate or review these goals and measures. To achieve this, it’s important to involve everyone, but not through lengthy meetings, rather through dashboards and brief updates. Especially when decentralized work is common and global organizations are spread worldwide, more space must be given for interaction. “During the COVID-19 crisis, I scheduled a short appointment for all employees called ‘CMO Talk.” It was a meeting without an agenda, where anyone could bring up a topic they thought would interest the group.
The Most Effective Communication Strategy
Furthermore, Mr Jacobs’s approach to building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, both within and outside his organization, is strategic. On one hand, sharing ideas and “food for thought” through social media platforms like LinkedIn plays an important role. Sharing successes and insights that result not only from marketing or one’s area is crucial. Building external networks is important for recognizing trends and assessing whether they apply to one’s company.
On the other hand, the involvement of one’s management is necessary because allowing suggestions from within the organization is important. Communication within management is of enormous importance here. It has been shown that various department heads, especially CEOs, are interested in how certain marketing initiatives are developing. It’s crucial that this information is conveyed briefly and succinctly. A PowerPoint presentation should not exceed five pages, and sometimes, a well-written memo is sufficient to convey the right messages within the company.
The Most Significant Distinction
When asked what sets truly impactful marketing campaigns apart from those that may fall short of expectations, Mr Jacob adds, “In my experience, what makes the difference are always the measures or campaigns that address a customer’s problem.”
It’s particularly important to always start from the customer’s perspective. It is best demonstrated when introducing new products because the product itself isn’t as crucial. What matters more is the improvement the customer experiences through using the product.
At the same time, there must be a story about the new product that enhances or improves the customer’s world. Ultimately, the emphasis on customer benefits largely determines whether the campaign is effective or not. Of course, the right target audience selection is also a factor. The best story and product are useless if they’re addressed to the wrong or improperly selected target audience. Here, too, the analysis of data and activation are factors that ultimately determine the success or failure of a product campaign.
When probed how he navigates and adapts to changes in consumer behaviour and market dynamics, Mr Jacob says that the CMO must know the target audiences. They are the navigator. Therefore, they must be the first to know about changes in the behaviour of stakeholder groups. However, market developments are also an important part of this analysis.
Both points don’t have much to do with creative performance yet. Incorporating these insights into one’s organization and alignment is part of a continuous improvement process that the CMO must lead and shape. The keyword here is…
Change Management
His advice to aspiring marketing professionals who aspire to reach executive leadership roles like CMO is pragmatic. Here, the saying goes: “Passion is key.” “For me, it’s important to consider the role of a CMO holistically.” The areas of focus have changed significantly in recent years. Being open to new practices and processes, adapting new methods, and steering KPIs are important elements of our task.
Being curious, having a hunger for knowledge, and the ability to convince employees of common goals are important factors in such a role. The position of a CMO is exciting but also challenging. Modern leadership in marketing, combined with expertise in markets and target audiences, are additional skill sets needed. “It’s just simply enjoyable when you embrace it.”
