The Great Marketing Declutter

Five Ways Marketers Profit from Chaos

Focus on what really matters. Discard what doesn't. And Rewire the best.

Why is it that when the world shifts, a select few find a way to thrive?  

I'll tell you exactly why. They're the ones who, having found themselves clinging to a tiny ledge created by the pandemic and changing consumer behavior, somehow found the courage to just ... let go. Funny thing is, they didn't fall. Instead, they soared.  

How the World is Changing for Marketers 

When the people at Accenture Song looked at the state of marketing and marketers, they found mammoth change and teams that are overwhelmed. Their engines are ready to blow – people are overheated and overworked. Their power is down, the speedometer unreliable, the steering loose. The change is coming from radical shifts in consumer sentiment and behavior, which are compressing transformation work that might have taken years into months. Consumers are embracing digital experiences as a primary method to interact with brands. Simultaneously, they are demanding more control over their digital identity and data, which is driving the rapid dissolution of traditional digital consumer data (e.g., cookies). It's quite a challenge: Just as a cohesive digital experience has become more important than ever to most companies, the data to enable those excellent experiences is disappearing. 

The metrics are indeed impressive 

But like any good research unit, Song didn't just focus on what was wrong. We saw how some were turning chaos into opportunity, moving ahead of the change, turning marketing into more than a cost center, into a profit driver. Accenture Song found that organizations following the right path—more on that below—are: 

1.4x more likely to perform far better in revenue growth and profitability. 

1.8x more likely to perform far better in customer satisfaction. 

2.5x more likely to perform far better in customer awareness. 

And their people are happier. A full 86% of these thriving marketing organizations say their employees have been energized by finding new ways to service customers’ rapidly changing motivations. This, as opposed to nearly 70% of marketing executives who report that the past year has completely exhausted their employees. 

That's what I call soaring.  

One answer: Stay with the leaders 

Accenture partners with world class technology platforms to bring transformation to companies. In this moment, we are particularly investing in digital advertising leaders, like Google, to help companies through this crazy era. I work with Google every day to help marketers make the most of this opportunity. Because there is a real opportunity that some nimble and aggressive marketers are taking. Google and Accenture are both thought leaders in this space and are eager to help marketers make the transition into this new consumer reality. Below are how some marketers are thriving. 

The secret to success? decluttering 

Accenture Song found that in this new world, the key is simplicity. The winners—the thrivers—are focusing on what really matters and discarding the rest. In particular, they are investing in direct digital experiences with consumers, simultaneously solving for consumers’ desire for better digital experiences and for more control over their digital identity. 

Accenture Song found five rules for decluttering marketing. 

01: REACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS 

Thrivers quickly faced the truth that the customers they once knew are no longer the same. Customer’s priorities are shifting, and marketing activities must be reassessed. Silos need to end – a more holistic, singular conversation is required. And that conversation needs to reflect what the customer cares about, not the company. A multi-dimensional view of each customer and a method to activate across all touchpoints is essential. 

02: FIND YOUR COLLECTIVE DIFFERENCE 

Thrivers rewired the enterprise around its collective difference, eliminating competing ambitions and silos so that the whole is greater than its parts. They use data to create common understanding. What makes the brand different is the one thing that binds everyone together. Thrivers have taken ownership for customer experience, as they know that experience is inextricably linked to differentiation and growth. This all requires discarding old operating models and rewiring relationships to show how marketing can be a profit driver, not just a cost center. 

03: MOVE AT THE PACE OF CHANGE 

Thrivers acknowledge that customers’ behaviors are changing faster than ever. The only way to lead is to move quickly and proactively, which makes speed and agility non-negotiable. Agile methods enable experimentation and test-learn-tweak-repeat approaches, that allow Thrivers to continuously monitor and follow the pulse of customer change. They quickly toss aside the initiatives that are not resonating and zero in on those that are—with less wasted time and effort.  

04: FIGURE OUT WHAT NO ONE WANTS TO DO 

The explosion of digital touchpoints, technologies and regulatory issues has made it too complex for marketers to manage it all directly. Thrivers have cleared the space to focus on what matters most, relying on AI and automation for more tedious and transactional tasks. They rely on their human workforce for innovation, originality and leadership, particularly regarding the automation of lower-value work.  

05: OWN WHAT YOU WANT TO STAND FOR 

Thrivers don’t try to be all things to all people, but rather focus on their own unique brand purpose and why and how customers care. This enables a much clearer sense of shifts in consumer sentiment and behavior. This responsiveness results in much higher levels of trustworthiness and brand identification amongst customers. It requires cultivating a shared aspiration amongst employees, forgetting vanilla brand proclamations and rewiring the company’s culture to be open to creativity and rebellion. 

In this moment of radical shifts in consumer behavior and sentiment, it is time for marketers to also fundamentally change. We must all discard the past, re-acquaint ourselves with customers and our company’s uniqueness, and move at the pace of change around us. Many marketers are thriving through the chaos, delighting customers every day, and turning marketing into a true profit driver. Accenture and Google are excited to partner together with marketers on this journey.  

Read the reports:

Learn more about Accenture’s research on how marketers are decluttering and focusing on what really matters: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/interactive/great-marketing-declutter 

Learn more about Accenture’s POV on marketing transformation: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/services/interactive/marketing-transformation