Kotler’s marketing book series has been continuously in print for nearly 60 years, with four new editions released in the last five years alone. The latest edition, Marketing 3.0, is a ‘digital detox’ for marketers who want to rebrand and retool their practices in the digital age, where marketing analytics and social media play an integral role in every industry sector.

What does that mean for you?

If you’re a marketer, you’ve no doubt been affected by the digital age. Email opens doors to marketing automation; landing pages and web forms let you test messages and offers; and mobile marketing lets you target audiences across the globe.

With Marketing 3.0, bestselling author and marketing legend Jeff Kotler weaves together decades of marketing wisdom with the latest digital marketing trends – transforming your practice for today’s reality.

Key Takeaways

In 2018, the marketing industry is going through a paradigm shift. Platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram have disrupted the way we used to market. In today’s digital society, marketers no longer control where their leads come from or what happens after the click. Using these services means you give up some degree of control, but you gain the flexibility to conduct marketing operations across multiple channels and measure the results of your efforts – no matter where your leads come from.

If that’s not appealing, you may want to consider a traditional marketing method – whether you’re a digital marketer looking to rebrand or a PPC (pay-per-click) marketer aiming to retool.

Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of the top 40 marketing insights and methods from Jeff Kotler’s new book, Marketing 3.0 in order to help you make the right choice for your business.

Why Marketing Analytics

Among our other ‘must read’ marketing books, you’ll find a detailed look at marketing analytics. For those new to the topic, here’s a quick overview of what marketing analytics is:

Marketing analytics is the study of your marketing activities and how they perform in comparison to goals and objectives. The results of your analytics efforts can help you uncover opportunities for improvement and measure the performance of your business – helping you make better decisions and align your marketing activities with your goals.

Marketing analytics can help you track the effectiveness of your social media and email marketing, including:

• Demographic targeting (age, gender, interests, and geography)
• Analytics tracking (hits, views, and opens)
• Content performance (engagement, bounce rates, and landing pages)
• Site performance (conversions, e-commerce, and time on site)
• Campaign performance (goal achievement and efficiency)

The beauty of marketing analytics is its simplicity; you can start measuring the results of your marketing efforts using free tools like Google Analytics. You don’t need a data scientist to figure out how to use these tools. Once you have that hurdle out of the way, setting up Google Analytics is a matter of a few hours. From there, you can start analyzing your data – making informed decisions about your marketing strategy and benchmarking your performance against goals and objectives.

The Four Disruptive Forces

Kotler names the following four forces that are changing the way we market:

• Technology
• E-commerce
• Demographics
• Consumer Behavior

Each one of these four forces has the potential to transform your practice. Let’s examine each one in greater detail.

Technology

In the past, marketers could rely on newspapers, magazines, and broadcast television to reach the majority of the population. With the invention of the internet, the world changed overnight – allowing for the creation of interactive media and online communities. This change in communication technology has altered the way we behave, shop, and engage with the world around us.

Now, more than ever, we rely on technology to get our messages out to the public – whether that’s through social media, website content, or emails. When somebody visits your website, they’re usually already on the lookout for something – be that related content or an offer for what you sell. If they find what they’re looking for and navigate to your conversion page, you’ve successfully pulled them into your website and motivated them to make a purchase or sign up for your email list.

From there, you can continue to market to them via email or use software like HubSpot to engage with them on a more personal level – eventually driving them to make a purchase or sign up for your email list.

Kotler stresses the importance of constantly innovating, staying ahead of the curve, and utilizing digital tools – like social media, email marketing, and web analytics – to gain a competitive advantage.

E-commerce

The world of e-commerce is growing – and so are your opportunities to reach shoppers via email. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can take advantage of online marketplaces like Shopify, which let you build an online store in a matter of minutes – without needing an extensive knowledge of HTML or CSS.

What’s more, according to HubSpot’s 2018 Digital Marketing Report, 83% of marketers plan on using email marketing in the next six months.

As a business owner or manager, you have many options for payment processors – from PayPal to Stripe to Square Cash. Each one offers advantages and disadvantages, depending on your particular needs and situation. For best results, try a simple and inexpensive solution like Stripe – which, in addition to offering the most supported platforms, also has an excellent user experience and is frequently recommended by developers and entrepreneurs.

Demographics

With the way consumers behave changing globally, demographics like age, gender, and income level are having a profound impact on marketing. As a marketer, it’s your job to figure out which demographics your product or service is appealing to and create buyer personas – or digital ‘merchandise’ – to determine your target audience.

Kotler identifies three demographic waves that are reshaping the way we market: the millennials, the digital nomads, and Generation Z.

The first two are already huge audiences – and the size of each one is rapidly increasing. If you’re not sure where to start, begin with millennials. Not only do they use social media more than any other demographic, but they’re also more likely to switch marketing platforms and campaigns than any other group.

The digital nomads are individuals that live and work remotely – primarily using online tools and communication platforms like email, video conferencing, and social media to maintain connections with clients and colleagues. And last but not least, Generation Z – the generation growing up with technology and the internet – are changing the dynamics of marketing as we know it.

These three demographic groups have different behaviors, interests, and priorities – creating a unique set of buying motivations and marketing challenges. As a marketer, it’s your job to understand each group’s dynamics and create marketing plans and strategies that appeal to them – expanding your potential customer base and bolstering your bottom line.

Consumer Behavior

Marketing as we know it will continue to evolve – and so will your role as a marketer. In the coming months and years, consumers will expect more from marketers. To stay relevant, you must stay in touch with the latest consumer trends and purchase habits – no matter what industry you’re in.

In 2018, consumers are expecting businesses to provide real value to solve a problem; to have a clear purpose and to be transparent about their products and services – marketing that doesn’t engage or entertain the consumer fails.

Kotler gives you a solid foundation in understanding consumer behavior, anticipating trends, and marketing to the bottom line – making this book a valuable resource for any business, brand, or organization looking to enter the digital age.