Blog 3: Trends faced by Marketers

 With so much competition in the market environment it has become more and more difficult for companies to maintain growth and sell marketable products.  According to a study done by IBM creating growth through the acquisition of new customers and sustaining growth through superior loyalty is at the top of most companies priorities list.  Return on Investment is no longer as much of an issue.  Companies need to create products that will draw in many customers as possible, creating a brand that customers will come back to time and time again.  There are certain companies that have a step up on other companies in how they are marketing their products to sustain growth and customer loyalty.  The top marketing companies tend to be more engaged in customer interaction and knowing exactly what the customer wants out of the product they are trying to sell.  Companies can interact with customers in various ways such as customer surveys, promotional events, or discount prices.  The graph below shows some of the ways the top performing marketers  differ from the other marketers and how they reach out to consumers.  

Marketers have come up with so many unique and creative ways to market their products.  I think that one of the biggest roles in marketing today is technology and keeping up with the ever changing digital age.  Companies that have their product available online tend to be more successful and have put other companies that weren't online out of business.  For example Netflix emerged on the Internet and allowed customers to stream TV shows and movies right from their lab-tops or computers.  As a result companies like Blockbuster went out of business and couldn't compete with Netflix's online streaming features.  Netflix has even needed to compete with other online streaming websites by adding original series you can only watch on Netflix. Companies like amazon have resulted in many bookstores going bankrupt because you can buy books online at amazon and it saves people the effort of going to a bookstore.  Consumers want what they want as fast as they can, and that is why having your products available to purchase online is a huge advantage.  

Marketing online also provides various ways for marketers to communicate with consumers.  Marketers can figure out what individual consumers are purchasing online and use that to send suggestions of other similar products that the customer may want to buy.  This also helps marketers figure out the environmental forces going on in the market. 

         It is definitely true that in todays competitive market, marketers have to lead their companies to success in creating a profitable brand that can compete with other competitors.  It is key that companies figure out the environmental forces in the market that will make their brand profitable and sustainable.