It’s time to rethink the role of marketing and the way that marketing is done. Many organizations are still stuck in the last century when it comes to how they think about customers and how value is created.
Many organizations are still very product-centric in their approach to marketing, even those that claim to be customer-centric. Which is not surprising. In my experience, only a few organizations really understand what it means to be customer centric.
Of greater concern is the narrow view of value creation that still dominates business. The idea that value is embedded in products that are delivered to customers is too simplistic. The reality is that value is perceived and experienced differently by stakeholders depending on the context and goals to be achieved.
Value creation is also a dynamic, ongoing process of engaging stakeholders and cocreating value propositions that are mutually beneficial. This process is impacted by existing practices, rules and norms. The role of marketing is to educate and guide stakeholders in this value cocreation process.
Being customer-centric helps. But being collaborative and cocreative is a different mindset and requires a different marketing approach.
