The Art of Digital Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Creating Strategic, Targeted, and Measurable Online Campaigns - Ian Dodson (2016)

CONCLUSION

At the first-ever lecture given by the DMI in Dublin, Ireland in January 2009, a single phrase was displayed in large text. It was an attempt to explain the transformation that digital has wrought in our lives. That phrase was “Start with the customer and work backwards.”

This has been the fundamental change that has directly impacted both people and businesses during the digital revolution. And the implication of this change is just as important now as it was at when this revolution began. This change has resulted in the need for a new breed of professionals—people who recognize the power of the individual and who understand and appreciate how digital works and how to work with it to implement marketing strategies centered on the customer.

The objective of this book has been to enlighten you about the core concepts of digital marketing, to provide inspiration, and to provoke you to take those concepts and alchemize them into practical application. You should feel empowered by the practical skills gained through the exercises, action plans, and additional resources; and you should feel ready to apply these skills to produce measureable results.

In recent years we have seen a steady decline in consumers' trust in companies, which has been driven by a lack of contact, an inability to “talk to someone,” and an emphasis on process over people. There is a gap in the market—and you are now equipped to fill it. You have the knowledge and skills to bridge the gap between customer and company. Customers desperately want to be listened to, and we can do it efficiently, comprehensively, and precisely through the digital channels you have encountered in the last 10 chapters. As a digital marketing virtuoso, you can talk to your customers via their cell phones, excite their imagination with digital display masterpieces, delve into their psyches through SEO research, and intrigue them with email marketing that speaks to their own particular interests.

The road to a customer's heart has never been so smooth. But as we know, hearts change. This fluctuation is integral to human nature and we must embrace this fact and use it to our advantage—by analyzing the market and constantly adapting to the dynamic nature of the customer. Change is at the core of digital marketing, and undoubtedly one of the most challenging things about digital marketing is the rate at which tools and platforms adapt. However, with every change comes even more possibility, and while digital can be one of the most challenging industries to work in, it is also one of the most exciting. We must embrace this reality and seize every opportunity to be industry leaders, innovators—and active and informed consumers ourselves.

Of course the new world of digital marketing and the empowered consumer can be intimidating. But like many things in life, it's all about perspective. Every day we witness consumers on social media eviscerate a company for shoddy products—but if we use this communication to our advantage by being responsive through social media or even by predicting consumer attitudes through market reality insights, we can be the answer to the detached corporations that consumers know and hate.

People constantly ask, “What will the next big thing in digital be?” There are so many possibilities—it could be an app, a technology, a platform, or a service. But the one thing we know for sure is that it will be characterized by an increase in consumer clout. Because that's what's important to us. We have it now. And we are not going to give it up.