This past weekend my family and I went to a Classic Car show outside of Louisville, Kentucky. It was fun to see the expressions on my kids faces when they saw and experienced the “old cars that Pawpaw drove” when he was younger.

The Classics are simple yet beautiful to look at, all the newer cars are very complicated, but yet, still beautiful to look at.

In looking at the classics, it got me to thinking about how far digital marketing has come in such a short period of time and how expectations of digital and marketing has changed. In a way, it has paralleled the auto industry and how customer expectations have changed as the cars advanced with new technology.

Enough about the cars and more on why I love digital and why I switched from traditional marketing to digital marketing more than 18+ years ago.

Time to Production – with many things digital and especially eCRM, the time it takes to go from concept to reality is significantly shorter than print, TV or even radio media. If I have the correct data points already set up in my tools, my team can set up a program in a matter of days, not weeks.

Changes on the Fly – with digital, it is very easy to make changes on the fly and make the necessary adjustments if a program is not producing like it should.

Websites – Amazing how far web development has come over the last 15 years. From almost purely static sites to fully functional eCommerce sites. You can find anything you want just by searching.

Companies that Adapt to Digital – how a company adapts to digital will tell you how much they understand the needs and wants of their customers. How can we forget about BlockBuster and their inability to adapt with the digital and Information Age?

Mobile, Mobile and Mobile – what more can I say? I’m currently sitting pool-side writing this article on my Mobile device. The mobile device is the one thing other than your keys and wallet that you have on you at all times. If you are not developing for mobile first, then you are missing it!

Flexible – teams must be flexible and adapt to digital. When teams accept the flexibility and the speed needed to adapt, then you will see amazing things within your organization.

Measurable – the ability to measure programs and in real-time give you the ability to also make adjustments and to see immediate ROI.

Testing Ability – the ability to do A/B testing, creative testing, subject line testing and so one if another plus and benefit of digital. What you think doesn’t really matter if the customer interacts differently. Test and adjust!

Types of Digital Programs that I enjoy creating strategy and tactics for – eCRM, eMail Marketing (both promotional and transactional), SMS, Push Notifications, App Inbox Communication, Search, Display, SEO, SEM, Website Development, Website Design, anything Mobile and of course eCRM & Digital Strategy and helping others with all of the above.

Social Media – a life of its own but something that should be fully integrated within all digital programs. I will do another article on Social at a later time!

Integration with Traditional & Digital – depending on your business model, traditional marketing and digital marketing work well together. Be smart with your ad spend and where you are getting the most ROI on this advertising dollars.

The crazy thing about how fast digital is changing and has changed is the new career opportunities that have opened up to support digital.

I can’t wait to see where digital will be in 10 years and how us consumers will be interacting with brands.

 

About Bernie

With more than 23 years of experience in marketing, Bernie is the Director of Digital Marketing at Papa John’s International, based in Louisville, KY. His current focus is building and scaling a progressive digital marketing foundation that balances the needs of both consumers and national/local stakeholders —  all while delivering measurable ROI to the business.

Additionally, Bernie oversees brand representation for Papa John’s digital properties and manages direct-to-consumer channels including email, SMS and push messaging. Recent initiatives have centered around bringing together larger promotional efforts with targeted campaigns to engage the consumer at the precise moment of interest.

Follow Bernie on Twitter @B2the7 or @B7_Design & the B2The7 blog @ http://b2the7.com/b2the7

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