How Information Technology (IT) impacts my career in Marketing

Name:
How Information Technology (IT) Impacts my career in Marketing
Institution:
How Information Technology (IT) impacts my career in Marketing
Introduction
Marketing is of fundamental importance to any organization whose aim is profit maximization; this is because, through marketing, the organization can increase its sales subsequently higher profits are earned. In this era of globalization, where competition is more intense than never before and more new market globally, Information technology is used as a fundamental tool in the market. For any company to attain competitive edge, it must employ all aspect of information technology in the marketing of its products and services to potential customers and existing ones.
Marketers now use information technology to pass timely and accurate information to the potential customers. Marketers are therefore required to have adequate information technology skills that will enable them to expand company’s market through getting messages to the potential customers in a more appealing way that ultimately will influence their purchasing decision and prefer their commodity or service to the other.
Information technology simply acts as a media of communication between the marketer and the potential customers, it provides a mechanism in which feedback can be collected by the marketer, and this also helps in making an relevant informed decision due to the availability of timely information from the customers and potential customers. Information technology also plays a crucial role in the maintenance of a good relationship between the customers and the organization since the communication between the two parties can be instant and flow in both directions.

In this era of globalization, information now is not from one party that is the marketer to the potential customers and existing ones but it’s now an interactive engagement between the marketer and the target audience. In other words, it builds an interactive media that is essential in relationship building between the company through marketers and the customers. It’s, therefore, essential for marketers to integrate information technology in their marketing skill so as to increase their efficiency and effectiveness as professions.
The impact of information technology on marketers as a career and marketing at large are of both positive and negative nature though the positives seem to outweigh the negatives. In this regard, the positive impacts are here below discussed, and later negative impacts will follow.
As a professional marketer, my main goals is usually to increase the return on investment on sales of the organization, forecast and take advantage of tremendous changes of customer buying behavior, deduce ways to influence interactive, database and network technologies that will help grow sales and be on one step ahead in terms of marketing in order to help the company attain competitive advantage over the other.
In order to achieve the above function, information technology has enabled me in my Marketing career in developing an efficient and effective collaborative customer relationship management in which information gathered by various department of the organization such as sales department, technical support department and marketing department such as efficiency level of a product is shared ,this has helped me in making sound decision in issues pertaining to a given product, given market and about a particular customer or client thereby being able to improve the quality of customer service delivery and, in the long run, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty CITATION KVe09 l 1033 (Venkatesh, 2009). This has enabled me stand out as a marketer among others through increasing company’s customer base through maintaining of the already existing one and attracting new ones while maintaining a good relationship with them. In the long run, sales increases and the overall goal of profit maximization of the organization is met.
Information technology has also resulted in the existence of dynamic pricing and trading situation. On pricing flow of information has enabled the marketers to be able to advise the management to price for example differently on different regions or at different period. This has enabled marketers to efficiently manage the effects of purchase and sales technologies on price margins CITATION Ale11 l 1033 (Oshunloye, 2011). Therefore, information technology has made me appreciates why prices may differ on certain a commodity.
Product channel readiness is another impact information technology has to market and marketers. Marketers are now able to design modular channels that provide ready products to customers that improve the ease of doing business and traction costs.
It’s also due to the availability of information technology that am now able to understand and employ hybrid distribution channel; this is where am now able to utilize more than one distribution design. This design has helped me expand distribution by covering a large geographical area and allow me to reach a wider market. This design has helped me reduce cost, increase market coverage, as well as the overall selling volume. Therefore as a marketer, understanding different distribution system and how to employ each one of them depending on the nature product and services with the best channel for each, information system has been of advantageous impact in understanding and expanding the market.
As a marketer, information technology has impacted my career positively by making me appreciate the advantage of having a customer interaction center. For example establishment of call centers, the web, email, fax and other official social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others provide a good customer marketer interaction avenues where relevant information and feedback can be collected which might be of paramount importance in making the relevant decision. It’s in that respect that as a marketer am now able to appreciate the importance information technology has in the establishment of a good customer interaction Avenue in the performance of the business.
It has also enhanced my communication speed in that communicating with any client is now so simple, and the neither location nor distant does not matter anymore, more information about company’s product can be found in company’s website, emails faxes and other social media transfer communication between my customers and the company. As a marketer am now able to analyze competitors due to the availability of information, able to devise new methods of competition, get immediate feedback from the customers in regards to issues like product quality, quantity, side effects and so on and also advice management accordingly.This has been made possible through the existence of information technology.
As a marketer, information technology has impacted me with the skill necessary to operationalize e-care, which pertain handling of customer issues electronically through avenues such as call centers, emails, and organization live chat. This is also a form of customer relationship management, and I credit information technology in enhancing my approach in building a good relationship with customers that made me increase sales and improve customer relationship by making the feel that they are always in the mind of the organization.
Information technology has changed my approach towards reaching the final consumers. Due to multi-distribution systems, It’s now clear than ever that i can target a consumer in more than one different approaches or rather not limited in using traditional methods only, for instance through information technology I can reach customers directly instead of using middlemen for distribution purposes, Information Technology has enabled marketers to cut the line of distributing if the marketer so wishes and enabling selling directly to consumers. This bring in all the benefits that can be derived from value added direct sales such as prices of the product may fall as the cost of distribution is minimized, quality monitoring is easy, and first-hand data and the information is easily obtained CITATION Par11 l 1033 (Parenzan, 2011).
Another critical effects information technology has impacted my career is the ability it has given me in the opening and enhancing new ways of promotion of products and services. Advertising can easily be done on websites, where further information can be added or capture customer information and orders. Direct marketing is now brought into new level because they enhance more regular and focused communication with the customers and clients. Another new dimension in the promotion that has been brought out by the information technology is the public relation in which brochures and publications are now electronic and tailor made to suit specific needs, small market interest and also individual. Another component being selling has advanced due to information technology and can now be easily and now communication with the potential customers and existing one a focused engagement rather than a one-way sharing of informationCITATION DrS12 l 1033 (Freihat, 2012).
Another impact of information technology on my marketing career is that it has added to me other responsibilities like social media management which entails monitoring and managing inbound and outbound conversations that takes place in social media also document social media marketing and assess the importance and the impact of social media presence in performance of the organization while making other tasks simple such as research, reporting and sharing information between the company and the customers and also with other organization of the same industries .In the same perspective, information technology has added new roles to marketing profession. Roles such as digital media marketing managers and social media marketing associates have now emerged which are of vital importance in this era of advanced technology and innovation.
Despite companies having more broader exposure to leads, they are faced with intense competition, and because they have more information than ever before thanks to information technology, They require a lot of innovative ideas to stay on top of the competition, in that respect, therefore, information technology has affected marketing professionals in that they must be more creative and innovative in their marketing campaigns and put more emphasis on thought leadership and be less concerned with traditional strategies of brand marketing. As a marketer, I need therefore need to be more creative and innovative to enhance my career to greater heights
Information technology has also made it easy for marketers in developing report .report generation system such as customer relationship management has greatly simplified production of marketing reports and summaries that are essential in making the relevant decision that pertains to marketing and the whole organization and also facilitates campaigns. Information technology has therefore made my work as a marker easy when it comes to big data processing to derive reports necessary for a marketer. Those reports are crucial not only to the marketer and the marketing department but also to the organization as a whole in that they can be used by top level management in making long-term decision and plans and also short term, Therefore I can confidently say that Information technology has enhanced my career output to a position whereby am able for example to advise top level management in strategic decision in matters that pertains marketing.
The development of integrated marketing communication has been enhanced by information technology that is a multi-media approach to organization promotion activities that aim at providing consistent information about the company product or a brand in the minds of consumers or target consumers and develop a strong customer relationship while also meeting their needs. One is therefore not confined to one media of promotion rather many which include radios, television, websites, emails social media and electronic newsletters. As a marketer thereof, information technology has positively impacted my career in the sense that can develop a more robust integrated marketing communication in my marketing activities that has a more positive results to any organization.
In every organization, research is of essence especially research on markets. This is essential because at the end it’s the sales that translate to the profit of the organization. In the marketing department, this is also of crucial importance. Information technology has therefore enhanced research and development in the field of marketing and now marketers can easily carry out research regarding target market, its composition, its behavior in regards to buying and also income level. The efficient flow of information has made this possible as a result of information technology. As a marketer, I am now able to do research in regards to any brands and the target customers. The findings of the research I can later use them to draw recommendation to the management and also devise new marketing strategies to increase sales subsequently attaining the main objective of the organization as a whole.
As stated earlier technology has both positive and negative impacts on marketing as the career, the negative effects are discussed here below.
Information technology has resulted in a more competitive environment since it has opened the world to a small village; in that respect, therefore, marketers require more resources to compete effectively with other organization but are faced with the challenge of getting full support of the management. In that regard, therefore, information technology has impacted my career as a marketer regarding choosing a company that will readily provide resources when choosing which company to work for.
Another challenge or rather a negative impact that information technology present to markers is in regards to the information theft. Cases of competitors using rivals information to counter effect their strategies on the market have recently been on the rise. Since information technology makes access of information more easily and also acquired timely, marketers are faced with challenges of securing their information that might be confidential such that if competitors possess them they can use it to counter effect their competitive advantage. In that respect thereof, marketing career is faced by data security issues and have to be armed with necessary tools to protect it.
Information technology has also rendered or rather taken away other roles of marketers. For example, it’s no longer necessary for markers to have the face to face advertisement rather information technology has provided a way in which information can flow in both directions immediately like it would have been when a marketer does on the face to face with a potential customer or a customer. Marketers are now forced to acquire new skills such as social marketing skills and in-depth skills pertaining data securities to which matches them with emerging new roles and responsibilities that are mandatory to possess to remain relevant in this world of fierce completion brought about by globalization as a result of advanced information technology.
Information technologies have brought many advantages to marketers but in turns it has also started to impact marketers negatively. For instance, it has made marketing more intrusive which include email spams, pop-up ads and sometimes prerecorded ads that may keep a customer waiting on the line. This is simply to say that marketers more than before are tempted to pursue aggressive tactics that bring in short terms returns and, in the long run, may end up damaging customer loyalty and brand.
Another negative impact that information technology has presented to marketers surrounds the fact that technological tools such as analytics ones help marketers better target their right customers and potential customers thus they have no excuse in reaching few customers and potential customers or reaching inappropriate ones.In other words more is now demanded from the marketers more than before. Therefore as marketers I am are required to be a forward thinker and move toward a more interactive campaign to reach the appropriate audience more effectively and efficiently.
As traditional it may seem, information technology has facilitated the loss of personal touch in the marketing of goods and services by marketers. That personal touch that comes as a result of face to face has since been eroded way thanks to information technology.Though this has no greater negative but for another product face to face marketing become more important in appealing and persuading potential customers to buy your products.in that regards therefore as a marketer am forced to drive promotion methods that try to bring that essence of personal touch to attract new customers
Managing advertising websites by the marketer is also another challenge. This is especially the case for a marketer who is working on as small enterprise fighting to reach growth stage or a nonprofit making the organization. Therefore at this point managing websites require resources regarding financial resources and skilled manpower to develop a more appealing website with attractively designed content therein. As a marketer am faced with challenges of inadequate resources especially when working in a small enterprise that is fighting to reach growth stage.
Another paramount problem brought to marketers by information technology is the challenge of identifying the right technology to use that sui=ts the company and its product and services. Although information technology seems to be advantageous, care must be taken to ensure that the right technology is used which will have a long-term benefit to the organization rather than one with a short term benefits for example as a marketer am sometimes faced with the dilemma on whether to use social media in marketing or not.
Another challenge that information technology presents to marketers is difficulties that arise in trying to target content for international customers and potential customers, is important to note that targeting is one of the essentials components of all marketing aspects. For a marketer to be effective in targeting, the first primary thing is the identification of buyers buying personas to determine who they should be marketing to. Therefore when expanding nationally a marketer is faced with the challenge of figuring the best way to market to such a wider market but also the which technology to use.In other words, I can say as a marketer, it’s now difficult to market internationally as developing of content and which market to target is not easy. The problem is compounded by challenges that arise in selecting the best technology to use CITATION Mar13 l 1033 (Sneider, 2013).
Information technology is not static rather dynamic.changes in technology has consequences on marketing ,this bring in another problem to marketers as they need to be at par with technology on a day to day basis, or else they lose their effectiveness and efficiency.in that respect, therefore, marketers are faced with challenges of training their staff now and then so that they remain relevant.as a marketer am supposed to attend a lot of training now and then wasting time that I might be using in other marketing activities.remwember also this consumer organization resources and sometimes organizations are not willing to provide more resources to marketers.
Conclusion
In conclusion information, technology has impacted both positively and negatively in my career as a marketer, in regards to the positive, information technology has benefited my career in the following ways
In terms of maintaining a good customer relationship, information technology has taken my skill to a higher level though helping me in developing an efficient and effective collaborative customer relationship management,it has also helped me understand better the issue of existence of dynamic pricing and trading, it’s also due to availability of information technology that am now able to understand and employ hybrid distribution channel and I now appreciates the advantage of having a customer interaction in maintaining of already existing customers.
Information technology also has that am now able to communicate with customers and potential customer in a more focused and interactive way where communication in not one party based but flow in both directions. I am now able to operationalize of e-care thanks to information technology, my approach towards reaching the final consumers has changed due to existence multi-distribution systems, it has also opened new ways of product and service promotion and it has also made it report generation easy for me due to the existence of analytical tools.
Another impact of information technology on my marketing career is that it has added to my other responsibilities like social media management, it has also helped me be in a position to develop integrated marketing communication and made it easy for me to carry out research about a particular marketing issue.
The negative impact it has brought about is the following, first of all, it has increased competition between marketers, eroded information privacy, and confidentiality. Information technology has also increased what is demanded from the marketers and are expected to bring into the board more customers, and information technology has also facilitated the loss of personal touch in the marketing of goods and services by marketers.
Managing advertising websites by the marketer is also another challenge, the problem of identifying the right technology to use that suits the company and its product and services, difficulties that arise in trying to target content for international customers and potential customers and also the challenges that present arise when information technology keeps changing now and then. The issues to do with the training of marketing staff, acquiring new technology infrastructure and maintain cost. These are negative impacts information technology has brought into my marketing career.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Freihat, D. S. (2012). The Role of Marketing Information System in MarketingDecision Making inJordanian Shareholding Companies.
Oshunloye, A. O. (2011, August 12). A Study of The Use of Internet and Mobile Phones in Five in Dublin. ICT in Marketing.
Parenzan, C. (2011, August). The impacts of Technology on Sales and Marketing. Consumer Relationship Management.
Sneider, M. (2013). Technology Brings Marketing Challenges. Consumer Relationship Management.
Venkatesh, K. (2009). Marketing of Information Technology: Concepts, Products, Services and Intellectual Property Rights. McGraw-Hill Education (India).