By Raheem Akingbolu
The Group Managing Director of SO&U Limited, Mr. Udeme Ufot, has stressed the need for organisations to embrace digital innovation to equip themselves and acquaint themselves on how customers think.
According to Ufot, in an age when digital technology had interconnected customers and democratised information across markets, the new knowledge would enable brand managers and business owners to connect with one another in the digital age.
Delivering the keynote address at the Marketing Edge National Stakeholders Summit in Lagos recently, the advertising practitioner, challenged organisations to be more receptive to digital innovation for marketing, saying key marketing paradigms had been seriously challenged or transformed, sometimes in ways we never imagined.
He stated that in today’s market, technology was democratising information with its ubiquitous spread and transforming customer choices which are changing the market place.
He added: “Marketing is acquiring a very nebulous nature where the marketer is spoilt for choice when it comes to opportunities for consumer engagement but yet hugely challenged by loss of control of what the consumer sees, hears or even hoe he receives same.
“At the click of a button, the consumer can have virtually whatever information he needs, even those he does not seek are thrust before him. At the click of a button, he can literally transport himself to any market he desires, compare offerings, and negotiate the best deals for himself.
“If he is unhappy with the service he has received, or disappointed with the performance of your brand, he can spread easily the word globally in a matter of secondsâ€
“Today’s consumer not only receives information, he is a disseminator of information, and co-creator of the brand. Today’s consumers can contribute to building your brand into the most loved and trusted in its category and can also destroy your brand in seconds.
“The consumer has become a communication vehicle and given “word of mouth†a new dimension I can describe as “word of fingerâ€. The customer has transformed into a most unexpected and powerful creature, one that you offend at great peril to your brand†he added.
Ufot challenged agencies to maintain relevance by familiarising themselves with the transformations in the market place and leading clients through the digital maze by taking a deeper look at how they practice marketing through all the various stages, from ideation through to strategy, internal processes and systems to implementation in order to effectively communicate, connect with and profitably satisfy the needs and desires of customers in the digital age.
