Focus on the Future of Marketing

December, 2004

We’re all so busy taking care of today’s marketing emergencies and pressing challenges that sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to plan for the future. But, we all know that the best way to stay one step ahead of our competitors is to build a solid, long-term strategic plan.

In November, RRW was invited to present at the University of Southern California’s Executive Leadership Program for Telecommunications. The purpose of the program was for high-level executives to take 4 days out of their busy schedules and use that time to brainstorm about how to be successful in the future—2010 and beyond.

We presented an overview of Marketing Tools that we believe will be vitally important as we move into the future. Topics ranged from CRM technology to the importance of a Permission-Based Marketing approach.

The workshop opened up with a discussion of the different values and buying habits of different generations (presented by Morley Winograd of USC). Specifically, Morley explored the Millenials generation. These are today’s 10- to 20-year olds who will be tomorrow’s customers — and decision makers.

Marketers are starting to pay more attention to the importance of Generational attributes, both in the workplace as employees, as well as in the marketplace as customers. One thing’s for certain — there are trends within the Generational cycles that, when understood, can help us more effectively reach our customers with the most compelling story.

To better understand the different attributes of each generation, we’ve prepared a description of each of the 5 Generations alive today – and some examples of what may be important to them when shopping for products and services. If you’d like a copy of RRW’s Generations Overview, we’d be happy to send it your way. And, if you’d like more information on some tools that you may need to consider in managing your customer relationships now and in the future, please visit our website. Here, you’ll find white papers on the importance of Data Management and Integration, Multi-Channel Marketing, Data Acquisition Considerations and Best Practices in e-Marketing. We think that these are some of the areas that smart marketers need to keep in mind as you plan for the future.

Or, if you’d prefer to chat with us directly about your marketing strategies, just call us at (503) 206-5255, or visit our website: www.rrwconsulting.com for more info.