The motto for the United States Coast Guard is Always Ready (Semper Paratus).

It’s a good mindset for marketers, too.

The best are ready to adapt, change and adjust as needed, guided by a solid business strategy.  Of course, sometimes you also have to be ready to change the strategy.

Top performers are ready and able to:

• Experiment
• View and process things from a different lens (e.g., competitors, markets, colleagues)
• Explore new ways to work better with their team
• Understand that maybe the other guy is right (at least sometimes)
• Embrace a new challenge or initiative

A now famous example of being ready led to the Oreo team’s real-time marketing success in the 2013 Super Bowl

Being ready usually means you’re in a position to be successful.  Consider one of my favorite quotes:  Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

So I posed the following question to members of MENG, the Marketing Executives Networking Group:

What would you say is the number one most important thing for marketers to be ready about/ready for in 2015?

Selected responses:

>  Same as always: how the target audience members feel about the product!

>  In dynamic markets, where new technologies and business models continue to emerge, competition increases and customer expectations evolve, marketers need to understand the impacts on and desires of their customers, make timely decision on where to place their strategic bets and be ready to adjust course as they watch things unfold.  No small task but fun stuff!

>  Digitally, to place more focus on one-on-one communication via communities of like-minded individuals.  Find more “human” ways to interact with your customers so you can build authenticity and trust.

>  How technological changes and increased control by consumers are changing the necessary priorities for marketeers (from apps to mobile to data/analytics to where searches are happening).

>  How to align customers to brands through ownership

>  Integrated media, content, context – integrated marketing based on realistic goals and objectives.

Beyond MENG, Wendy Alpine, president of Alpine Communications, expanded on integration:

The blending of earned and sponsored content will continue to blur, so marketers need to understand the importance of an integrated approach to marketing, online advertising and PR.

Alpine also sounded a warning about social media activity.  She suggested that companies engage employees with education about potential negative spillover from personal accounts and safe-use, best practices.

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Please Add Your Comment:

What is the number one most important thing for marketers to be ready about/ready for in 2015?

HEADLINE

The motto for the United States Coast Guard is Always Ready (Semper Paratus). It’s a good mindset for marketers, too.

Harvey Chimoff is a marketing and business team leader who drives performance in consumer products and manufacturing companies.