This is the second week of my CXL Growth Marketing minidegree program. In this review, I am going to share my thoughts on how the user-centered approach shapes the future of digital marketing.
Frankly speaking, I am never a linear student. I tend to jump around, fish around, and fool around ever since I was a kid. After clicking around and checking the course structure of this minidegree, I come to realize how much emphasis is placed on research and customer psychology from instructors.
Before thinking on a grand scale, I want to share a bit of my learning experience. It has so far been very pleasant, yet, this does not mean it is easy-peasy! The information-packed courses have provided so much food for thoughts to me. Therefore, writing reviews is definitely a good reflective moment for me to step back and examine what I have learned and done so far, not only in this program but also in my career journey.
The Role of Marketing
McKinsey published an article on the future of marketing back in 2014, when tech startups were blossoming around the world alongside the increasing usage of smartphones. Betsy Holden recorded some insights from Bill Boulding, Dean and J.B. Fuqua Professor of Business Administration at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. Seven years later, I still find this article relevant.
“[marketing is] viewed as a tactical communications function rather than a strategic growth driver”
In my first Growth Marketing Minidegree review, I have talked about how marketing has evolved from “mass-broadcasting a product or a brand name” to “a wide term that can be broken into many realms such as B2C, B2B, brand, event, growth and many more specializations’’. However, there is a tendency that when we scrutinize an object too close, we lose sights of the surrounding. Just like what Betsy Holden has written, “[marketing is] viewed as a tactical communications function rather than a strategic growth driver”. Marketers, even though we have to handle some hands-on tasks, should always think about the big picture.
Despite the popping up of buzz terms “growth hacking” or “XYZ optimization”, the fundamentals of marketing are the same. The process of doing certain tasks may be different but the rationales are still the same.
I personally always see marketing is a combination of creativity, strategy and empathy. We can go crazy with wording and graphics, yet all these stay as bells and whistles if we do not address the core need of our customers nor help relieving their pain points. We may get a few customers but may not win their heart if there is no special value nor advantage in the product we promote.
The three aspects mentioned above form a triangle that marketers should always remember. These can also be found in Holden’s words and throughout the CXL Growth Marketing minidegree.
The Future of Digital Marketing
Here, I will continue exploring my train of thoughts from my previous review, on the blurring definition between product and marketing nowadays. “Users value personalized communication that addresses their needs” as “marketing has somehow intertwined with the product itself”.
From the McKinsey article, Professor Boulding has pointed out the increasing importance of real-timeness. In the digital realm where services and products are intangible, we receive tons of feedback and information in one split second (if we have good Internet speed :D), which could not have happened back three or four decades ago.
There is no shortcut to marketing success. Marketing is not only about conversion copywriting nor SEO. Marketing can generate leads but it is more than that. To improve marketing is to improve the product and also the user experience.
It has become inevitable that marketing does overlap with service design, in a good way. Service design is the extension of marketers’ understanding of their customers, manifested through customer’s experiences. In order to understand customers better, research has to be conducted.
Instructed by the CXL founder Peep Laja, the course Conversion Research under Module 2 Running Growth Experiments lasts for 4 hours 20 minutes! Landing Page Optimization Instructor Michael Aagaard also introduces methods in conducting conversion research. From the duration and recurring theme, we know how important research is before doing anything silly! Even though I have many trials and errors on my marketing journey, I believe in working smart. And doing research is actually the ‘shortcut’ to success and doing the right things.
In Peep Laja’s Conversion Research course, the ResearchXL framework is being introduced. It is more than just quantitative analysis as it also includes usability and technical analysis. In short, marketers are recommended to look into the issues holistically,
I am always an advocate for good user experience. I have taken service design courses so that I can be a better marketer. Somehow, bad user experience has always bugged me, even when I was a small kid. I do not know why, maybe I do not like people disturbing me while I concentrate on doing certain things. Therefore, I am glad to see qualitative research is mentioned in both Peep’s and Michael’s courses.
Even though we marketers work daily with digital tools, receiving data as instant feedback, we should never neglect the significance of qualitative research. Indeed, the analytics have easily told us a lot about our customers, through a few clicks. However, numbers only tell us what, it is those open-ended questions and observations that tell us why.
I hope all companies would allow space and time for qualitative research. Marketers should always work for the customers and therefore, having a robust understanding of customers is utterly important. As I have said earlier, the future is all about digital. With the increasing acknowledgment of service design (fortunately) and competitive digital landscape, a top-notch user experience can help differentiate a company among the others.
I stay optimistic and bet more and more marketers will become proactive in helping customers, by drawing insights from holistic research. Marketing, in the end, is a bridge to connect customers with the solution.
Side-note: It is already happening! Some digital marketers have transitioned into the service design industry and I have seen the other way round too.
