Technology vs. Tradition: Finding the Balance

A CHALLENGE faced by many marketers is where to invest for the greatest impact on marketing strategies.

For example, the theme of the National Center for Database Marketing conference this past July was “Keeping up with the speed of change in database marketing.” And the focus of the December NCDM is “Integrated database marketing: the future of the enterprise.” With all the hype, buzzwords and a sea of products, it’s easy for marketers to become disillusioned by technology and overwhelmed with choices.

By incorrectly using tools and technology, marketers may actually hurt themselves more than help. The key is keeping your eye on the ball.

Too often we get caught up with technology and its allure. I’ll use a golf analogy to show what’s happening in our business.

Golfers often devote years to perfect all aspects of their game, the same way marketersspend time and effort to try to better understand their customers and their profitability. Golf has seen the introduction of new technologies in the form of oversized titanium drivers, perimeter-weighted irons, 60-degree lob wedges and graphite shafts, all of which promise to improve a golfer’s game. Today’s golf clubs feature state-of-the-art materials and designs that contribute to more efficient play.

Many a golfer, while thrilled with the prospect of improved distance and control when the ball is properly struck, will get annoyed when miss-hits land in unexpected locations. A player is not going to throw away fundamentals and strategies that took years to perfect because he or she is using a new club that promises greater distance. Similarly, marketers shouldn’t toss out proven company marketing traditions because of the potential of new technologies.

Technology, compared with all other variables, has had the biggest impact on the marketer’s changing landscape. It goes without saying that technology eventually will change cost structures and the way companies spend their marketing dollars. With the assistance of neural networks and modeling, promotions can be simulated on computers and their results evaluated before any promotional piece is created.

These are some reasons why a company needs to build upon sound strategies that extend and complement current marketing plans, and not compete with them. A company considering the use of or implementing any new technology in its marketing and business plans must recognize and measure how that technology will add value to customer relationships.

One company that comes to mind has created a successful circulation strategy based on disciplined direct marketing practices. The firm learned to segment its universe into four distinct groups and communicate with customers and prospects based on list selections, job titles, SICs and other criteria. Like most companies, it wanted to try to become more profitable with its marketing dollars.

It determined that modeling might offer the opportunity. Unfortunately, the company made the mistake of using the model to replace what it had been doing instead of using the model to enhance what already had proven successful. The organization discarded fundamentals and strategy and ended up in an undesirable position, “out of bounds.”

The company’s decision to use modeling to enhance its marketing efforts was a good one, but it took its eye off the ball. The company would have been better served if it had built a model for each segment and improved the profitability of each segment. That would then translate into better overall profitability for the entire campaign. It’s critical to build any new technology into ongoing marketing cycles rather than just using it in discrete promotions.

Companies are running the risk of trying to replace skill with technology. We marketers are a curious bunch, with a tendency to confuse the analytical and fundamental with the magical and supernatural. We seem to believe that in this age of science and reason there must be some “Star Trek”-like technology that will solve all our marketing challenges.

The problem isn’t with the technology, though, but rather in how it’s used.

Don’t be misled by hype, buzzwords and salespeople. Don’t discard your marketing game plan because of the newest, hottest technology. Remember, these tools are meant to enhance the implementation of your marketing plan, not replace or compete with it.

It’s the balance of new technologies and company-proven marketing traditions that will guide marketers through an ever-changing landscape.