We are living in a VUCA world as follows:

• Vision: We need to know where we are going.
• Understanding: We need to understand both the customers and the stakeholders.
• Clarity: We need clarity and a clear focus.
• Agile: We need to be agile and quick.

VUCA changes a lot of activity. Products have a shorter life cycle, so the building of competitive advantage is more difficult. It is easy in today’s world to copy something.

Samsung only took 6 weeks to copy Apple’s iphone. But Samsung changed the design slightly and was able to relaunch the Galaxy Tab.

Increasingly more products are about the same. All products are also of decent quality. Customers are becoming more demanding and asking for good quality products.

So how do you stand out of the clutter?

The main question is — Are you Perceived to be Different?

Our perception is very biased. In the past, companies are like bowling. They throw the ball and expect some sort of reaction. Today, it should be a pin ball. There is a loss of control on the type of messages you release in social media.

You cannot un-Google yourself! But even if you decide not to be in Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, there will still be people who will talk about you.

Consumers want a dialogue. They want us to bring the love back. In the past, customers was assembling in the TV and watching the same direction. Now, customers talk separately.

Madonna for example was accessed millions of times last year. EvanTube was accessed 1 billion times.

In particular, the retail business has a major paradigm shift. 12 year olds ask for Michael Kors handbags because Selena Gomez used it last week.

Dior successfully engaged their influencers to simultaneously about the Saddle Bag and increased their sale significantly.

The new James Bond movie featured Daniel Craig in a N. Peal sweatshirt, which sold out.

Recommendation by friends have greater impact in buying choices. In social media, you need to foster and enlarge the earned media class, turning them into real fans.

Zalando #wherever you are compaign with Cara Delevigne

They produced more than 60,000 videos and was highly successful.

The most influential couple in the planet was Murad Osmann from Russia that showed perceptions of various countries and cities.

You have to be agile and have real-time marketing. Example, after the election of Donald J. Trump, the tourism industry of Netherlands garnered 27 million views and tourists increased 10%.

Fedex produces superior financial returns. Safety is the first priority. We can talk about customer value proposition but what comes out in the end is how it is perceived and managed.

The damage to Fedex was around USD 1 billion.

Ouch!

TAKEAWAYS

1. Social media marketing has changed the paradigm of marketing.

2. The customers and key opinion leaders dominate communication.

3. Dialog oriented communication is jet.

4. Audience specific content is paramount

5. Mind the guiding principle of entrepreneurial activity.