Then Versus Now

Depending on with whom you talk, the world today is either a much simpler place thanks to technology or a much more complex one. Perhaps it is both, with the technology having gotten so complex in order to make life seem easy. Either way, there are definitely times where the changing technology makes our life easier but not necessarily simpler. And so it definitely is in the world of marketing. We can do things better, more quickly, and in less time. None of that though has made the actual job easier because it has only leveled the playing field increasing the number of people competing and at a rate higher than the growth in users attention.

When we think about this new, “simpler” world, what comes to mind is a more transparent world. It is also an immediate one. We expect more, faster. All of this is in keeping with human nature, but the underlying factors have been accelerated by the mega trend of the past two years – a connected world tied together by multiple, overlapping and interlocking social platforms. It is a fundamental change that cannot be overstated, even if it hasn’t fully impacted our lives. Each voice and interaction is no

longer one on one. It is one to many. Almost anything we say might be spread. While not entirely new, the big difference between the old blog, content winds up on Google model, is that instead of a pull model of some content living on, today’s push model actively propagates. This new paradigm is powerful but like a wildfire it can reek havoc before anyone knows what happened.

So what does this new model mean for performance marketers? The new super connected, amplified world  may not have fully impacted our lives, but it has changed it. That doesn’t mean the old model was easy, but it did have fewer moving pieces.

Then – The Old Way

The old way was the infomercial. The old way was all about the message and not so much about the product. It was decisions made more in a vacuum with less concern about what others thought and with less concern for what others bought. This applies to businesses and not just consumer products. Everything was business centric. The business people came up with the products and the engineers executed. Business, marketing, and sales dominated the culture. It was almost like a high school, where the brains were needed but still not considered a vital organ. Plenty of other big businesses were founded by non-business people, e.g., Microsoft, but Google’s ascendancy really changed the hiring ecosystem.

Now – The New Way

Within Google, business leaders had to have engineering backgrounds. Engineers and product managers (engineers) are the top of the food chain. Sales and business development play supporting roles. In isolation, it isn’t a big change, but it is anything but in isolation. The businesses of today might be at some levels led by business people, but they certainly aren’t started by business people. They are started and led by technologists, but not just any technologists; it’s a new breed of technologists, those who get the business, or in most cases, make the business. They might not get monetization, but they get what needs to be built and how to build it. This is a such a fundamental change. It doesn’t mean that business people don’t have value, but having a business background is anything but essential. It’s what you do when you don’t want to work as hard.

If anything, the new way is easier. It removes temptation. We all have ideas for products. If you aren’t technical and the product is technical in nature, consider not doing it. If you want to do it, make sure you know how to lead tech talent or find someone that can and have them be compensated properly. It might be easier than ever to find someone to help you build a product, but running a business that is a tech product is not the same as running a business that is marketing driven. There is still a huge opportunity for marketing driven businesses. That is not the point of the old versus the new. The old versus the new is just making sure you know your strengths and not getting swept up into trying to build something that isn’t a good fit for your skill set.