What I Read – McKinsey Quarterly, February 2015 Issue.

Tags

digital, innovation, Jesko Perrey, Jonathan Gordon, marketing, McKinsey, McKinsey Quarterly

Recently I read somewhere, that I should make notes of what I read and review them from time to time. I decided to give it a try, since I read a lot and I think making such notes will be for me a way of remembering best ideas, quotes, or whatever from my books and magazines. I also decided to share those notes with you, in edited form as some have gotten pretty long. In many cases I copied whole passages without noting the page numbers, which is against good reference practices, but of course I will list title and author of a book (or article) where I got the notes from.

I do that with hope that at least some of you will reach for mentioned magazine or book when you will find my notes interesting. Ach, one more thing: small number of notes do not mean that the book or magazine was not good…

Here is what I noted from the article “The dawn of marketing’s new golden age” by Jonathan Gordon and Jesko Perrey in the McKinsey Quarterly, February 2015 Issue:

“The power of today’s digital tools and the scientific approaches they make possible are not only enabling a more substantial role for marketing but also giving it opportunities for real-time impact”.

“…As you think about the implications of science, substance, story, speed and simplicity for your organisation, we suggest you ask yourself five questions:

Are we taking advantage of the science of data and research to uncover new insights, or are we working off yesterday’s facts, assertions, and heuristics?

Do we fully exploit the power of marketing to enhance the substance – that is, the products, services, and experiences – we offer our customers, or are we just selling hard with “me-too” mind-set?

Do we have a clear brand story that echoes through cyberspace, or do we feel that we aren’t quite capturing hearts and minds?

Have we created simplifiers within our organisation, or have complex matrices become a logjam?

Are we faster or slower to market than our competition?”

All of the above are valid questions. Asking them – since I have them – is now easy. I even know some of the answers. Getting the rest of them and then turning those answers in some sort of action is another thing entirely.