The Technology Revolution Hits Marketing

Introduction

Web 2.0 represents the changes that have taken place in the internet. This change used to be gradual some time ago. However, the change has become exponential. There are crucial inventions in technology every other day. These advancements and improvements are inevitable in the marketing world. Therefore, every of these changes have to affect how companies market their products. This seems to be the trend observed in the past decade and is expected to be the case in the second decade of the century.

Analysis of the Article

Apart from the marketing firms, technology has adverse advantages to the society, as well as the individual consumer, ‘marketing’s broader importance extends to society as a whole’ (Chapter 14, Pg. 2, The importance of marketing, paragraph 2) According to the article, 85% of the American population owns mobile phones. Of these people who own phones, a quarter owns smart phones. These have over 100,000 applications, which have an adverse effect on the marketing world. This creates a platform for companies to launch and advertise their products. However, they are not the only beneficiaries of this technology (Perreault 2011). These applications might not be relevant to the citizens of poor nations. This is because they have no choice in the products they consume. They just go for the cheapest products to satisfy their needs. However, it is a different case for a person in a large city like Tokyo. They may have a need and some products in their mind. However, it is these advertisements that help them to gain knowledge of other similar products. It is also the marketing that advises the consumer on the best product available in the market (Chapter 1, Pg. 1 paragraph 3).

Successful marketing includes the ability to concur competition that is offered by firms that offer similar products. Therefore, any firm has to keep up with the changing technology in order to achieve this. As the article illustrates, these changes in technology were also witnessed in the gaming world. This is because the technological improvements that were being made were so fast. That is the reason as to why the change in power in the gaming world was often experienced. For example, Nintendo was considered to be the best. This is because they offered superior products. However, they were overtaken by competition as time went by. This is because the Sony Play stations III and the X-box incorporated new technologies in their products. (Chapter 4, Pg. 1 Paragraph 3). Therefore, when Nintendo upgraded their products, they had to advertise the new features that they had incorporated into them. This was the only way to beat the competition that was being offered by the market. This shows the extent to which technology pushes a company to the limit (Kotler 2012). They may choose to neglect technological changes but their competitors will not. Therefore, this would result to failure in the business. This is the significant effect and challenge that technology had to the marketing companies.

Apart from changes in the product due to technology, the article also deals with the changes in the marketing strategies, as well as products that have been affected by technological changes. This is another factor that poses a significant threat to the marketing parties. This is the reason why some companies are more successful than others. The advancements in the marketing programs mainly focus on the use of the internet. As a firm adapts to the improvements and inventions in the internet, it supersedes the other firms which are not engaging in the same. This is the case that is observed in the Coca-Cola Company. The accessibility of their products can be surprising to the consumers. More to this is the knowledge of the product that people have all over the world. This is because ‘Coke used an internet based data system’ (Chapter 12, Pg 1, paragraph 2). This facilitates the fast flow of information of the product in the world. This company has been excellent in embracing and implementing the technological changes that occur in the marketing world. This is why it has remained at the top, despite the fact that there are many other providers of soft drinks in the world. According to the article, the future holds more of such challenges than it has done in the past decade. Therefore, the firms that mainly depend on advertising for the sale of their products need to adapt to the changes that are occurring in the marketing world, since they will go on increasing with time.

There is substantial need for the transfer of information of information. This information should be done in a fast way and should meet the maximum number of the parties involved. For, example, in cooperative advertising, there is cooperation between the wholesalers, retailers and the producers (Chapter 16, Pg. 7, coordinating advertising efforts with cooperative relationships). The internet provides an ideal platform for the fast transfer of information. This ensures adequate coordination between the relevant parties to facilitate a smooth process in the advertising. This shows that marketing does not only involve reaching out to consumers (Shajahan 2007). It also concerns coordination between the advertising firms which in turn requires coordination. This coordination is enhanced by the internet and the changes that take place. There should also be coordination between different firms in order to facilitate efficient marketing (Chapter 12, Pg 1, coordinating logistics activities among firms). This is because coordinated efforts reduce conflicts and simplify processes. The internet has provided such platforms to facilitate the transfer of information between firms and between different departments in a firm. Therefore, the whole article focuses on the role that technology plays in marketing. In turn, marketing depends on coordination, flow of information and the reaching of many people. Therefore, the future holds a greater challenge for companies, than has been seen in the past (Belch 2011).

Conclusion

From the above review of the article, it is clear that technological changes are inevitable. It is also clear that these changes have to affect the marketing world. This mainly occurs through the changes and improvements in the use of the internet. Therefore, this is a message that should go to all the firms in the world. Apart from incurring the cost of production, firms should realize that it is necessary to incur the cost of the changing times. They have to spend on research and expertise if they are to keep up with the changing times and increasing competition.