Malin Liden, Vice President & Head of Strategic Programs, Global Field Marketing, SAP
“Marketing is a marriage of science and art, with most marketers traditionally leaning heavily on the artistic side. Now, we need marketers who can function as data scientists, interpreting big data and turning those insights into fuel for the marketing machine.”
“One of the biggest opportunities for marketing in the future will be nurturing communities. It’s about being part of the conversations rather than trying to own, dictate, or steer the discussions. Being part of the conversation is a privilege, and you have to earn it. ”
Before the shift to remote work, we talked a lot about digital marketing, but we still focused heavily on in-person events. These events are expensive and not always effective. We needed to do more digital, automated, data-driven marketing, but it was difficult to break habits and change—for ourselves and even our customers. Recent events and the need to go digital have been a huge catalyst for us. We are now accelerating a transformation that has been on the agenda for a while, a shift to digital marketing that focuses on inbound communications—pull marketing instead of push marketing.
The transition for us was definitely disruptive, like being hit by a bulldozer. That said, the crisis has also shown how the brand really matters. We had invested a lot in branding, so customers know us as a responsible company that follows a strong drive to help businesses run better while improving people’s lives. I think that in crisis, more than ever it pays off to have a history of being a company that cares and is not afraid to choose sides. The foundation you build in terms of the brand is critical in a crisis. People want to know what a company stands for, what its point of view is on important topics.
This is an excerpt from 15 Experts on Reimagining Field Marketing. The eBook was generously sponsored by Mighty Guides.
