There are many definition of marketing: communicating product values, selling goods, and some include studying consumer behaviors. Marketing has been practiced for many years, thought in every business school, and raised multibillion dollars company. Yet, business nowadays shows there is a huge gap between the company and the consumer.

Marketing 1.0

Marketing 1.0 put a lot of attention on product functionality. It guides you to answer these following question, what product should you sell, to whom should u sell it to, what price should be right, where should you sell it, and how should you communicate. And “Yes”, they are the Marketing 101 course in every business school. Outdated? Maybe. Important? Yes. Learn this material guides a potential marketer to think from both company and consumer points of view, as those are the fundamental ground in the industry.

However, new challenges arise as more players come to the market. Competitors come and offer new products to the market. “Me too” products enter the market, offering similar products with lower price. Consumer loyalty is shaken, and marketers come up with revolutionary thinking, a way to differentiate their products better.

Marketing 2.0

There is little fact to really prove who initiate this era, yet we know for sure it create a huge impact in marketing. Instead of pouring more function, pushing the distribution, and increasing the advertising budget, marketer start to insert a soul in the product. And that’s how a brand is created. A brand is not merely a label of a product or a sign of quality. A brand includes all the association that it has. For example, Dove is a soap brand. The brand stands for more than soap association, but also natural beauty, self-esteem, and women. This way, a marketer to resonate the brand soul with its consumer, thus win the competition in the market.

In Marketing 2.0, we see a huge shift in marketing role, as it becomes more people oriented, and treat a brand as if it is a living object that has distinctive personalities. Even until now, companies are working hard to build their brand, in order to survive in the competitive environment.

Despite those efforts, the markets seem to react differently. Retail industry, grows roughly 5% in Canada, while consumption volume is increasing in a higher rate. That indicates that consumer is paying less for every item purchased, which an early indication that the consumer are becoming price sensitive. Retailers are providing a cheap private brand product, stealing market share from existing premium brands. At the same time, we also realise that people are willing to pay more to support local and organic food. People buy a five dollars burger to support community movement, ditching a four dollars regular brand burger.

Marketing 3.0

People are changing. During the last couple years, how many people are looking for work-life balance, instead of position in a company? How many new career paths are designed? How many people choose to work for smaller company over big multinational company? How many people stay for more than 3 years within the same company? Those changes affect many things, including marketing.

As the generation shift, people seek different things. Our consumers seek different things. Our old consumers might care about how cool would they be, if they drink your product. The social status that represented by the brand they are wearing. But right now, consumers are well aware about their responsibility, as their action might bring a huge impact. Our consumers seek values in the products. Therefore, there is a huge gap between the company’s best effort to market their product and consumer’s expectation.

Marketing 3.0 introduce triple bottom line in marketing: functions, associations, and values. The brand values could be set with the one that most suitable with the company value and consumer value. It could start from planet protection, world hunger, sustainability, local, fair trade, etc. Many brands have practiced marketing 3.0, such as Body Shop which against animal testing and support activities to protect the environment. Brand’s value sets a vision on consumers’ mind, resonates with the deepest human insight, and helps them achieving their highest human need: self-actualization.

Marketing Future

Despite all the theory on marketing, there is a deep lesson that should be taken from those marketing evolutions. Marketing is tightly connected with people, therefore it evolve over time. Ultimately, it evolves at a faster rate now. Therefore, it is important that for a marketer to be flexible, smart, and wise in applying knowledge and strategies. A marketer is also pushed to diligently sharpen his skills. After all, we must have heard a Wiseman says, “The only constant is change”

Are you ready to shape Marketing 4.0?