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You know that blogpost format: “X is dead! Kill X!’? Your blood runs cold. It suckers you in and then the piece goes: “Oh ok, only bad X is dead. X is ok really, in fact it’s what we do for a living”?
I’m as guilty as the next marketer.
In fact last month I was opining “crypto is dead, long live crypto yada yada yada”. By the way, for more on how crypto is approaching the mainstream check out this useful overview of the de-fi landscape from awesome-intel-mongers Beauhurst.
Disruption is dead!
And it didn’t stop us proclaiming Disruption Is Dead either. But this time we mean it. Our economic landscape is dramatically different from anything we’ve known before. Disruption has had it. It’s all about the Great Acceleration now. No-one knows how this K-shaped recovery will play out. We’re working with experts from across the investment spectrum to examine the new rules of economic engagement. We’ll share our findings in a podcast series we’ll launch later this year. Let us know if you’d like to get involved. In the meantime, we’ve examined how to use digital to future proof investment decisions, you can download our ebook here.
Buyer personas must die…
Still, I FELL for: ‘Buyer personas need to die of a violent death’. A piece from sweary marketing contrarian Louis Grenier. It’s been bugging me ever since. He’s right and he’s wrong. He’s bang on that a useful persona focuses on psychographics, not demographics. We need to get to the heart of why people buy to find a way to market to them.
But he misses the point on creating a persona that seems like a real person. Our view? Don’t get hung up on the demographics. They’re there to ground the persona and make them real. Then the persona can do what it needs to do: communicate essential customer understanding. Their triggers, motivations, problems. Boards are often so far removed from their customers. Personas bring segments to life for them. And that can not only change marketing strategy, but core business strategy too.
CMOs and the growth triple play
Contrarians also like to call out purpose. But this week the World Economic Forum and McKinsey called it differently, talking about the growth ‘triple play’. They say companies investing in purpose, analytics and creativity see above-market rate growth.
“The most successful CMOs are deftly using the precision and rigor of analytics to anticipate and satisfy customer needs, guided by purpose and energized with creative approaches”.
These companies are driving growth that’s twice that of peers. Of course, that’s hard. The report goes on to give recommendations for how to rock the triple play. Unsurprisingly, key to it is customer understanding: “Know your customer like you’re in the room”.
I guess effective, customer-understanding-driven buyer personas are alive and kicking after all.
