Gone are large homogeneous or smaller heterogeneous markets. Marketing has become atomic. Is yours?

Many organizations continue to market as they always have with a “sprinkling” of social media or outbound email marketing. This is a tragic as any investments in time and money in this type of marketing simply won’t yield the desired results.

Take a look at this diagram which outlines the five stages that marketing has gone through up to this point. No doubt you’ll find the stage of marketing that you can identify as your “current state” and the one where you’d like to be.

The five stages are:

Marketing 1.0. is defined largely by what we’ve known as the “golden age of advertising.,” where markets were considered by their size and location. Organizations that market in a 1.0 fashion typically target, position and message based largely on SIC or NAICS codes, maybe cutting the target by geography. In this category the primary drivers are the delivery of information and ensuring that there is ample product, price, place (channels) and promotions to drive awareness to adoption.

Marketing 2.0 added another target definition based largely on creating needs or fulfilling wants as expressed in more detailed research. In this type of marketing more defined messaging occurs around identified needs or wants while still viewing the market through the lenses of larger, homogeneous characteristics. Many businesses still utilize this type of marketing, again driven by SIC or NAICS codes, geography with basic, macro-level customer characteristic information and messaging added.

Marketing 3.0 saw a shift in more targeted messaging and the introduction of new avenues, or channels for communication. Here, products and services are marketed based on the benefits that a “customer set” might gain. Looking beyond the product or service features and functions, and even beyond needs and fulfillment, companies that have a Marketing 3.0 mindset have a focus beyond simple SIC or NAICS to greater market segmentation with more targeted messaging that drives home advantages of a particular product or service. Marketing 3.0 has a more multi-channel approach across one to three channels.

Marketing 4.0 has been a predominant focus for marketing leaders in the past 10 years, or so. Marketing 4.0 sees a fundamental shift toward “data driven marketing” where research and analysis identify smaller heterogeneous markets with even more laser-like targeting across numerous channels, four or more. Here marketing recognizes that buyers cannot be seen as larger, homogeneous segments smaller, segmented groupings but as unique individuals with unique needs or wants that seek solutions. Marketing 4.0 organizations generally shy away from SIC, NAICS, broad segments, segmentation and commensurate positioning and messaging to take a multi-message, multi-target, multi-channel approach that delivers content to the exact target.

Marketing 5.0 wasn’t possible just two to four years ago due to the immaturity of technology and tools needed to take marketing to a new, more atomic level. In Marketing 5.0, the target markets are considered “a market of one” where a specific individual’s desired experiences are taken into account. Vastly different than the first four phases, Marketing 5.0 looks to harness the power of product and service capabilities and benefits, the end-to-end company value delivery system, multi-channel connection options, big data-driven information, artifical intelligence and machine learning and technology to drive real-time marketing adaptation throughout a target or customer journey and experience. Marketing 5.0 is where the entire company becomes a “marketing engine” to drive growth, value and customer experiences as the point of value differentiation (no longer only attached to the product or service).

If you are a company with complex, engineered or technology-driven products and services then it is critically important that you strive to always move to the right to a more persona, atomic and multi-channel approach. The faster you do and the better you execute you will distance yourself from the competition and drive new opportunity on your terms.

So ask yourself: in your desire to grow, what type of marketing are you currently using? Could it be that there is a better approach that could drive your growth faster and more accurately?

The Afterburner Group specializes in helping companies achieve their growth goals for products, services, entire markets, revenues, profit and business value. We know which marketing approach will drive the desired results and how to put together and implement the roadmaps from whatever marketing stage you’re in to where you’d like to be.

If you think that your marketing is stale, outdated or in need of a refresh and implementation of the next type of marketing that will fuel your growth, fill out the contact form below and let’s start the conversation.