Marketing 4.0

01Old-school marketing doesn't cut it anymore, thanks to the internet. We need to switch up our game and use digital platforms like social media and email to reach our audience

In the good old days, before the internet took over, marketing was all about print ads, TV commercials, and radio spots. Big businesses had a lot of sway over the market, using these marketing tactics to shape how consumers thought and acted. The success of a product or service hinged on how well a company could sell its value to the consumer. Let's say a company came up with a new kind of vacuum cleaner. They'd pour a lot of money into research and development, make the product, and then use old-school marketing to convince people it was worth buying. Consumers would then decide whether to buy based on what the company told them and their own personal preferences. But then the internet, and especially social media, came along and changed everything. Now, companies don't have the final say in shaping consumer perceptions. Information is everywhere and easily shared among consumers on various online platforms. This has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers. Take news consumption as an example. In the past, people had to wait for scheduled TV broadcasts to get their news. Now, news is instantly available online, with platforms like Facebook and Twitter providing real-time updates. This hasn't just changed how we get our news, but also who we trust to give it to us. Eyewitness accounts shared on social media often carry more weight than traditional news sources. This shift is also clear in the business world. Entrepreneurs in developing countries can now learn from their counterparts in developed nations and create similar businesses. For instance, Alipay in China was inspired by Paypal, Flipkart in India was modeled after Amazon, and Grab in Malaysia was influenced by Uber. This has led to a more inclusive global market, with products and services that used to be exclusive to developed nations now available in developing countries. When it comes to marketing, the change has been just as big. Consumers today don't just rely on how popular a brand is when deciding what to buy. They turn to the internet to research products, read reviews, and get a feel for public opinion. A company's online presence, or lack thereof, can greatly influence a consumer's decision to buy. For example, a new clothing line that puts a lot of effort into online marketing strategies like video content, blogs, and social media interactions is likely to attract more customers than a similar brand that doesn't have an online presence. In fact, blogs are said to have 63% more influence over purchasing decisions than newspapers, and Facebook influences the purchasing decisions of 47% of Americans. In short, the internet has completely changed the marketing game. Old-school strategies that used to rule the roost have been replaced by digital methods that focus on engaging with consumers and having a strong online presence. This shift hasn't just changed how companies market their products, but also how consumers decide what to buy.