I came upon an article written by Denise Lee Yohn, who accurately explains the decline in marketing over the past few years and how marketing is usually misunderstood. While this was written in 2019, I feel that many of the details within this writing are still relevant today. The world keeps innovating with products and technology, which means that marketing needs to stay up to date with new ways to reach consumers.
Has Marketing Declined?
A portion of this write-up discusses how marketing has declined within the past few years. One of the examples that was used to back up this statement was the fact that Walmart and Starbucks cut their marketing staff. Not only that, but Unilever and P&G have cut back a great amount on their marketing spending.
This information may be true, but that does not mean that the decline in marketing concludes it to be dead. Technology has become such an important part of people’s day-to-day lives that many marketing techniques have been created since this article was written that increase brand awareness. It is possible that companies had to cut back on marketing staff due to the increase in high performing technology which allows one person to complete the role of multiple people. There is a lot of potential in the marketing world that is yet to be discovered and I feel that it will only keep growing as technology advances.
Is Marketing Misunderstood?
Yes. It is mentioned in this article that marketing is usually defined as advertising, or even just different ways to persuade people to purchase a product. This is not false, but marketing is more than just advertising and promoting a brand. Marketing is how a company learns about their consumers, forms a connection, and sustains that connection with the consumer. These relationships are not formed by just advertising, but it is done over a period of time by forming trusting relationships between an individual and a brand. Denise Lee Yohn, the author of this article, states, “marketing must be embraced, developed, and valued now more than ever”. I could not agree more with that statement.
