“Marketing 4.0 – Moving from Traditional to Digital” by Kotler, Kartajaya, and Setiawan is a fantastic book that covers the latest shifts in our culture and how marketing can fit in. The older versions of the book focused on products or human-centered design, the latest edition covers the tectonic/technological shift in the relationship between buyer and seller. I will lay out some of the most impactful insights below –

Power is shifting away from individuals, to groups
In a world where the horizontal, inclusive, and social forces trump the vertical, exclusive, and individual forces, customer communities have become powerful. In the past, companies believed that innovation came from within the organization. However, internal innovation could never keep up with ever-changing, competitive market. Today, the innovation is horizontal – the market supplies the ideas, and companies commercialize them.  

The concept of consumer trust is no longer vertical
Customers in the past were influenced by marketing campaigns. They also sought out expertise and listened to authority. Recent research across several industries show that most customers believe in the F-Factor (friends, family, Facebook, and Twitter Followers) more than marketing messages.

Customers do NOT make their own choices – Rather they are influenced in these ways–
1) Marketing Communications (TV, Radio, traditional)
2) Opinions of friends/family
3) Personal knowledge, attitudes, past experiences

The most influential segments of the digital era are YWN – Youth, Women, Netizens –
Youth set trends for seniors in popculture fields, such as movies, music, food, fashion, and tech.
Women are the household CEOs – gatekeepers of product choice – does research others find pointless.
Netizens – Savvy in connecting with others, opinionated and acts on it reviewing products, shares info freely

From Segmentation and Targeting to Customer Community Confirmation
In the digital economy, customers are horizontally connected in online groups/communities – unlike segments, communities are formed naturally by customers, within boundaries they define themselves. The way to access these groups in through Permission Marketing – By serving a purpose, solving a problem, you can approach the group and ask permission to share info.

From Brand Positioning & Differentiaion to Brand Clarification of Character and Code
In the digital economy, customers now evaluate, examine and scrutinize any “brand positioning” – What should remain constant is brand Character – the brand’s reason for being. When the role of a brand remains true, it’s outer imagery can be flexible. Think MTV and Google doodles –

THE NEW CUSTOMER PATH – Aware –> Appeal –> Ask –> Act -> Advocate
Brands that optimize the conversions between these steps will have better chances. Taking a holistic view of the path, rather than just focused on TOMA (top of mind awareness) the new marketer should invest in driving all the steps on the path.

Marketers 4.0 Should Pracitce “Digital Anthropology”
Understanding how people behave, make decisions, or perceive the world is powerfully important to traditional marketing. New marketers should focus on these Digital Anthopological tools –

Social Listening – Observing conversations and social dynamics online, in various groups and communities. Like bird watching.
Netnography – Ethnography online, immersed and participating in communities.
Empathetic Research – empathetic, human and engaged research with multi-disciplinarian team, actively uncovering insights about online communities.

Content is the new Ad, and #Hashtags are the new Headlines
An advertisement contains the information that the brand wishes to convey, hoping to sell and compel. Content contains the information the customers want, that can help them achieve their own goals and objectives. Companies that focus on Content Marketing and Social Engagement will have an advantage over older versions of “push” advertisements and one-way press releases.

Future belongs to companies that “Delight”
Finally, the book touched on the never-rusty advice of being stellar to your customers, providing opportunities through marketing, sales, onboarding, and post-purchase that delight and surprise. Brand Affinity and Engagement Marketing are two ways to achieve this goal, but the future is bright for the company that can bake the concept of “delight” into their process.

GET THE BOOK –> Marketing 4.0: Moving from Traditional to Digital