We operate in a new era of marketing that is much more egalitarian than in the past.  Consider these new realities:


Message Source:  Buyers consume information about brands from a variety of sources, much of it produced by people outside the company itself.  This is particularly true in B2B, but would anyone today buy a $17 mm software product or even a $100 dress without a Google search for customer testimonials?

Message Credibility:  Customers with brand experiences---both good and bad---often have more credibility than the brand itself.

Message Fragmentation: Buyers are all over the place.  They may start with a search engine, but then sign up for email, participate in community forums, attend live and virtual events, read customer reviews on their smartphone,  and search Twitter.

All that emphasizes the lack of control that marketers have over much of the messaging that influences buyers and moves them (or halts them!) through the sales and customer life cycle.  In this new era of marketing, the role of the marketer is not just to develop and drop messaging into key outlets at well-timed intervals. We've become storytellers.  We've moved beyond asking buyers to come to us, we now go to meet them and share experiences outside our brand control.

I liken this to a new kind of marketing partnership--one that partners marketing not just with the sales and technology departments, but with customers, prospects and employees from all over the organization.

Think about that for a minute. There are endless ways that this customer-employee-marketing partnership might manifest in your organization:

1. Life-cycle marketing is driven in large part by gathering and leveraging knowledge from your service teams, happy customers, and lost customers.



2. Email marketing automation and triggered messages respond to recent subscriber behavior and is not limited by what they've purchased two years ago.



3. Social marketing is done best via collaboration between PR, customer service, merchandising/e-commerce, and demand-generation teams.



4. Effective measurement of advertising spend is tracked via interactions that happen on and off your website landing pages.



5. Product development now incorporates early and active insights from customers and prospects.



6. Market development can be done virtually via connections in online communities, and the local gatherings that congregate because of them.

Marketing is no longer about "spin" or "positioning."  It's about representing the authentic and unique attributes of a brand.  This can't be done only via broadcast methods in any form, although generic email broadcasts and mass television, radio, and print advertising can still provide good air cover for your targeted marketing activities.

The only way to have any sort of priority or sanity in this new era of marketing is to adopt the Practice of "Why?"  It's a great way to set priorities and distinqish between noise and conversation.  It's a new mantle, patterned after the insatiable curiosity and indefatigable energy of a three-year-old.

• Why? Why do people love us?  Why do they visit our website?  Why do we think we know how customers use our products?  Why do so few of our clients tap our service/up sell offerings?



• Why?  Why do we Twitter?  Why do some things get re-tweeted more?



• Why?  Why do we send the same email message to everyone when we know it's not relevant?



• Why? Why do we feel one community gives us more coverage than another?  Why is it better to consolidate than to dilute?



• Why?  Why do our sales teams focus on certain job titles?



• Why?  Why are we exhibiting at the same trade events that our competitors do?  Are we breaking through?
  Why?

Why, indeed.  When the marketplace demands meaningful, helpful participation and abhors self promotion, marketers can no longer afford to stay in the tower or behind the PC and send the messaging outward.  We must get our hands dirty, get involved, and---most importantly---get others to help us.  We must actively advocate for customer interests. We become stewards of the brand, not just hucksters of it.

Why?  Because customers are in control and they are influenced by authenticity and outside endorsement.  Because our employees are our greatest ambassadors, and they touch prospects and customers in many ways, every day.  Because the world is shrinking. Because the technology is exploding our options.  Because we must focus on those activities that have the highest impact.

This shift is not about control, it's about share of voice.  You can outspend the competition and make your voice louder, but that alone doesn't give you credibility.  Instead, embrace the multitude of voices that are socially connected, and activity talk and share with those who have the power to help  you build your business.

Have you sensed this shift happening when you look at the metrics or when justifying your advertising buy?  Have you discussed it as you develop a social governance rulebook?  Perhaps you've started to respond to it as you shape the positioning of a new product launch.  Share your experiences with us below.