Closing the Marketing Capabilities Gap

Marketers are being challenged by a deluge of data that is well beyond the capacity of their organizations to comprehend and use. Their strategies are not keeping up with the disruptive effects of technology-empowered customers; the proliferation of media, channel, and customer contact points; or the possibilities for microsegmentation. Closing the widening gap between the accelerating complexity of their markets and the limited ability of their organizations to respond demands new thinking about marketing capabilities. Three adaptive capabilities are needed: (1) Vigilant market learning that enhances deep market insights with an advance warning system to anticipate market changes and unmet needs, (2) adaptive market experimentation that continuously learns from experiments, and (3) open marketing that forges relationships with those at the forefront of new media and social networking technologies and mobilizes the skills of current partners. The benefits of these adaptive capabilities will only be realized in organizations that are more resilient and free-flowing, with vigilant leadership and more adaptive business models.