Why an uninformed approach to digital is like building a skyscraper without its pillars
As a Marketing specialist, plenty of instances happening around me make me ponder.
Understandably, Digital is the new Mantra. Marketing & advertising gurus across the world are gung-ho about it. From established Brands to Wannabe’s; everyone seems to have only one word for Marketing these days – Digital! Suddenly, there seems to be an epidemic of sorts and the only cure around is Digital. As a Certified Digital Marketer; this should make me very happy, give me goosebumps even; like a brand said sometime back ‘The Future is Bright’.
However, better sense prevailing on me, I can’t help but wonder is this a good thing or bad? Having learnt from my own experiences with another sunrise industry in India (now in doldrums within a mere 25 years) Telecom; I wonder if Digital Marketing is going down the same road. With the so called Digital Marketing Academies or training institutes mushrooming at every corner in every street; Quality check is the primary casualty of the trade. These institutes are churning out DM ‘experts’ by the dozen. Experts who have backgrounds as diverse as from Arts to Engineering; but sadly, with little to no experience in Marketing; the Brick and Mortar format; the real-world kind. Their tag or expertise is acquired at a mere investment of a few hours or months at the Digital Marketing training institutes; and in return, they now claim to be experts in the field; capable of taking on vocations such as SEOs and SEMs.
All that these institutes are doing is equipping their students to tackle “How”; how to undertake SEO, how to tackle SMM, how to place an ad on Facebook et al.
They are forgetting or choosing to overlook a bigger aspect.
The ‘WHY’ of Marketing which happens to be the one aspect that takes years to understand and master, the aspect that clearly gives a Marketer the edge; the foresight into whether or not to undertake a project; to diagnose a situation & to judge the aptness of a solution. The Why gives
foundation to Marketing and without it; no matter how tall or how fancy a building may be; it’s bound to tumble!
I’m amazed at the fact that ‘Marketing’ from Digital Marketing is so overlooked; forgotten even; that it makes me very concerned as a Brand Custodian. Most so called Digital Marketing specialists cannot even equate the real world with the digital world and the nuances therein; leave alone attempting to influence the buying behavior of a brand in social space. Without a clarity on these basics, how can one do justice to his or her job in the Digital domain?
But who could blame them? The medium is such; the flexibility, the transparency; the accountability of ROI that it offers; Digital Marketing is gaining advantage over conventional Marketing by leaps and bounds. The Privacy of small screen is an advantage that we never knew of before; perhaps only dreamt of, vaguely, thus rapid proliferation of the medium. All this whilst not even elaborating on the obvious advantages of cost savings!
As the wise men say; ‘it takes time and effort to do it right. To build the foundations for any brand as well as for any project is an activity of immense responsibility and must be undertaken with due diligence as such.
Do you agree?
