Marketers Need Digital Literacy

Racepoint Global's “Why Marketers Need to Speak the Language of Digital" study points out that as marketing has become increasingly technology-based, marketing departments need to know as much as possible about the nuts and bolts of what their IT support can offer to be successful.

According to a survey by Gartner, 98% of marketers agree that digital techniques are an integral part of the larger marketing operation.

Racepoint points out that "off-the-shelf" marketing solutions are a thing of the past. Marketers need the ability to tweak existing technology to their needs as well as develop new features.

Tools such as Synthesio, NetBase, Sprinklr and Brandwatch provide insight into customer patterns and what competitors are up to. Failure to heed consumer sentiment is a critical mistake in today's digital world.

Blackberry ignored market trends and went from one of 2009's fastest growing companies to posting losses of $4.4B four years later.

McDonald's, however, listened to social media and the calls for all-day breakfast and has seen sales rise 5.4% in the first quarter of 2016.

Internet of Things

An incredible array of internet-enabled devices are available today with more to come and as a result consumers are more tech-savvy than ever.

Every business now must be a technology business. This ranges from the local business optimizing their website to rank higher in a search on Google to car makers putting Wi-Fi and semi-autonomous driving features in their cars.

Personalized marketing campaigns have grown with the rise of social media. An example is Coca Cola's "Share a Coke" offer which lets customers order a bottle of Coke with their name on it.

Marketers with the digital literacy to identify the need for a new app or piece of software and respond quickly is a necessity in a market landscape dictated by technology.

Download a PDF of Racepoint's whitepaper.