Navigating the perfect marketing storm in 2023
2023 will not be the first normal year after the pandemic disruption. There are only a few marketing organisations primed to come out stronger on the other side. So here are a few important questions for CMOs to ask themselves as they evaluate their marketing readiness for the new year
The past 2 years have rewritten the relationship between marketing spending and revenue generation. Much like human relationships, brands’ relationships with consumers also get tested in times of stress
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The buzz in some Business and Marketing circles is that 2023 will be the first normal year after the disruption of the past few years. In my opinion, nothing could be farther from the truth. A perfect storm is brewing and few marketing organizations are primed to come out stronger on the other side.
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So here are a few important questions for CMOs to ask themselves as they evaluate their Marketing readiness for 2023:
1. Do I know the new relationship between my Marketing inputs and Brand Sales?
The past 2 years have rewritten the relationship between marketing spending and revenue generation. Much like human relationships, brands’ relationships with consumers also get tested in times of stress. And whatever the outcome, there tend to be a few surprises. Here are a few observations:Large Brands were spending too much:
Many established brands came out of the pandemic realizing that they had been spending at more than required levels in the past i.e reduced pandemic spending did not hurt sales. There have been good reasons for historical levels of high spend: Data driven marketing, marketing mix models, media inflation, media fragmentation, competitive activity etc. Then there’s also the organizational truth that no one ever saw an ambitious CMO ask for a lower budget. The fact is that large brands have momentum that can survive long periods of low/no spending. What is that new level for your brand?Unknown Brands got accepted overnight:
Brand building has never been more modular as it is today. Find a proposition, outsource product, outsource production, outsource distribution and logistics, in-house packaging design and marketing. The past two years accelerated this model and leveled the playing field for new players. The growth of strong microbrands in the watch industry is a great example of this modular business model at work. It has been even easier in household and personal consumer goods. If new entrants can work with so little, what can I learn for my brand?
