(The English review is placed beneath Russian one)
Давно я хотел прочитать эту книгу и также давно я ждал новой хорошей книги от Котлера. Более того, я ожидал, что Котлер наконец-то выскажется на тему Интернета в целом и вот наконец-то это свершилось: «We now want to introduce Marketing 4.0. Marketing 4.0 is a marketing approach that combines online and offline interaction between companies and customers. In the digital economy, digital interaction alone is not sufficient. In fact, in an increasingly online world, offline touch represents a strong differentiation. Marketing 4.0 also blends style with substance. While it is imperative for brands to be more flexible and adaptive due to rapid technological trends, their authentic characters are more important than ever. In an increasingly transparent world, authenticity is the most valuable asset». Я так же считаю, что книга получилась очень хорошей, авторы пишут очень правильные слова, особенно учитывая тот факт, что в последнее время вышло очень много книг посвящённых интернет-маркетингу, в которых учитывается только интернет (только онлайн), что с моей точки зрения превращают эти книги во что угодно, но только не в книги посвящённые маркетингу, тому маркетингу, который мы знали (а многие и сейчас знают) в XX веке. Почему-то считается, что интернет позволил людям не учитывать классические труды по маркетингу, к примеру, «Маркетинг. Менеджмент» Котлера, книги Траута и Райса, книги Майкла Портера, книги Дёминга и Друкера (последний хоть писал про менеджмент, но они также важны и для маркетинга). И вот наконец-то написаны очень важные и точные слова, связанные с интернетом в контексте маркетинга.
Итак, главная идея книги проста и заключается, по сути, в довольно очевидной мысли: онлайн и офлайн должны работать рука об руку, совместно, как единое целое. Я соглашусь, если кто-то скажет, что это всё очень очевидно. Однако соглашусь лишь частично. Да, это очевидно, однако если приглядеться, то можно обнаружить, что не все уделяют должное внимание обеим областям, считая онлайн простой формальностью, которой можно заниматься, затрачивая меньше времени, сил и денег в отличие от офлайн (и наоборот). И вот именно на это авторы и говорят: нет, обе сферы важны. Как правильно пишут авторы на этот счёт, «Omnichannel marketing has been proven to drive results. A survey by International Data Corporation found that omnichannel buyers typically achieve 30 percent higher lifetime value than single-channel buyers. Macy’s even found that its omnichannel buyers were eight times more valuable than its single-channel buyers. Customers have higher commitment when they have options and when they are enabled to purchase an item at the exact moment they want it». Т.е. мы видим, что согласно опросам, поддержание и онлайн и офлайн на высоком уровне даёт реальное повышение продаж.
Вторая идея (книга, по сути, состоит только из двух идей), это превращение покупателей не просто в лояльных покупателей, а в людей, которые будут «проповедовать» бренд, уговаривать других, купить его. Да, это далеко не ново и поэтому интерес представляет только первая часть книги. Однако учитывая небольшие размеры книги, я всё-таки советую прочесть книгу целиком. Итак, превращение потребителей бренда в адвокатов бренда. Как пишут авторы, это важно ещё и потому, что люди больше всего доверяют советам (какой бренд выбрать) своих друзей и родных, а не традиционной рекламе независимо онлайн ли это или офлайн. Как пишут авторы, «As customers trust their peers more than ever, the best source of influence is the army of customers turned advocates. Thus, the ultimate goal is to delight customers and convert them into loyal advocates». И далее, «Research by Nielsen in 2015 reveals that 83 percent of respondents in 60 countries rely on friends and family as the most trusted source of “advertising,” and 66 percent pay attention to the opinions of others posted online».
И третий момент связан с тем, что авторы подчёркивают важность групп, которые встречаются в социальных медиа и которые связаны с определённым товаром. Именно влиять на эти группы, может стать важнейшей целью нового маркетинга 4.0 - «Today, communities are the new segments». Этот вопрос в книге не очень чётко проработан, поэтому как это в реальности выглядит, каждый должен додумать сам. Как я уже сказал, главной целью остаётся превращение покупателей не просто в лояльных покупателей, а в адвокатов определённого бренда.
I've wanted to read this book for a long time, just like I've been waiting for a new good book from Kotler. What's more, I expected that Kotler would finally speak on the subject of the Internet and it finally happened: «We now want to introduce Marketing 4.0. Marketing 4.0 is a marketing approach that combines online and offline interaction between companies and customers. In the digital economy, digital interaction alone is not sufficient. In fact, in an increasingly online world, offline touch represents a strong differentiation. Marketing 4.0 also blends style with substance. While it is imperative for brands to be more flexible and adaptive due to rapid technological trends, their authentic characters are more important than ever. In an increasingly transparent world, authenticity is the most valuable asset».
I also think it's a very good book, especially considering the fact that a lot of books about Internet marketing have been published recently that only take into account the Internet (online only), which in my opinion turns these books into anything but marketing books, i. e. marketing that we knew in the 20th century. For some reason, it is believed that the Internet has allowed people to ignore the classic works of marketing, for example, "Marketing Management" (or "Principles of Marketing") by Philip Kotler, Jack Trout and Al Ries's books, Michael E. Porter's books, Edwards Deming and Peter F. Drucker's books. Finally, very important and precise words related to the Internet in the marketing context have been written.
So, the main idea of the book is simple and lies in a fairly obvious idea: online and offline should work hand in hand, together as a whole. I would agree if someone were to say that this is all very obvious. However, I will agree only partially. Yes, it is obvious, but if you look closely, you will find that not everyone pays due attention to both areas, considering online as a simple formality that you can do with less time, effort and money, as opposed to offline (and vice versa). And that's exactly what the authors say: no, both areas are important. As the authors correctly write in this regard, «Omnichannel marketing has been proven to drive results. A survey by International Data Corporation found that omnichannel buyers typically achieve 30 percent higher lifetime value than single-channel buyers. Macy’s even found that its omnichannel buyers were eight times more valuable than its single-channel buyers. Customers have higher commitment when they have options and when they are enabled to purchase an item at the exact moment they want it». That is, we see that according to the surveys, maintaining both online and offline at a high level gives a significant increase in sales.
The second idea (the book, in fact, consists of only two ideas) is to turn customers not just into loyal customers, but into people who will "preach" the brand, persuade others to buy it. Yes, this is far from new and therefore only the first part of the book is of interest. However, given the small size of the book, I still advise you to read the whole book. So, the transformation of consumers of the brand into the brand's advocates. As the authors write, this is also important because people most trust the advice (which brand to choose) of their friends and family, rather than traditional advertising, regardless of whether it is online or offline. The authors write, «As customers trust their peers more than ever, the best source of influence is the army of customers turned advocates. Thus, the ultimate goal is to delight customers and convert them into loyal advocates». And further, «Research by Nielsen in 2015 reveals that 83 percent of respondents in 60 countries rely on friends and family as the most trusted source of “advertising,” and 66 percent pay attention to the opinions of others posted online».
And the third point is related to the fact that the authors emphasize the importance of groups that meet in social media and that are associated with a particular product. Influencing these groups may become the most important goal of the new marketing 4.0 - «Today, communities are the new segments». The book is not very clear on this issue, so how it really looks, everyone has to think for themselves. As I said, the main goal remains to turn customers into not just loyal customers, but advocates for a particular brand.