Author Description

"Key skills for marketers in the 21st century, which we have now cautiously embarked upon, conjures up images of great technological advances, of a world utterly transformed, a world perhaps ultimately dominated by Artificial Intelligence. This book thankfully does not indulge in the whole "what might be" debate, but instead sensibly takes a long hard look at where marketing stands today, setting out the key skills marketers must master to succeed over the next decade or so. Written by CIM's Director of Marketing, Ray Perry, in a very accessible, sometimes amusing manner, the book outlines the evolution of marketing basics in the 20th century before swiftly moving on to the issues that face the 21st century marketer. These range from the proliferation of media and the choices this now presents the marketer, to consumers' concerns over privacy and data protection. These and other key themes are outlined, demonstrating how they will impact and shape the marketing function. What becomes clear is that in order to succeed in the future, "marketers will need to be flexible, adaptable and multi-skilled". Pan-marketing, measuring metrics, knowledge management, CRM and integrated supply chain management will all be important, and it is likely many of them will become specialist marketing roles in their own right. The case for each role is argued well and supported by a range of well-researched figures and examples, before giving sound advice on how to execute the role. The chapters on the media marketer and metrics marketer are particularly good. Key skills and competencies are laid out with a useful summary of things to remember.The book will help today's marketers face up to the challenges of the 21st century, and help them develop the marketing skills they need for the new connected economy." --John Ling, The Chartered Institute of Marketing "Ray Perry looks at the wider perspective of new marketing and identifies key success factors - a good re