Featured Research: The Rise of the Supermarketer

The landscape of B2B marketing is hardly recognizable from what it was just 10 years ago. The ubiquity of social media, the proliferation of channels, the deluge of data, and the changing buyer behavior has created a world of chaos for marketers. Add to this the ongoing geographic expansion and continuing budget constraints in most companies, and it’s easy to see that marketing organizations require a complete renovation. This includes modernizing the people who “do” marketing. A department of event planners and public relations specialists is not going to be able to tackle the business strategy, technology, and measurement requirements in this new world.

It would be impossible for any one marketer to embody all of the new skills that are required. Nor can companies just fire everybody and start over.

ITSMA research shows that two types of marketers will be important to the future of the marketing organization:

• The specialist, who focuses on a specific aspect of marketing, such as community management, content development, search engine optimization, predictive analytics, or marketing automation.
• The supermarketer, who is a generalist with broad experience with and understanding of both marketing and the business.

Specialists will come from many different areas, many from outside of marketing. They are industry practitioners, delivery specialists, journalists, and data “scientists.” They come from technical disciplines, finance, universities, and b-schools.

On the other hand, supermarketers will be experienced marketers who can orchestrate multichannel marketing programs with the components created by the specialists to execute the business strategy. These supermarketers are consummate generalists who have just enough background in all the marketing specialties to have credibility and good judgment while having the leadership and relationship skills to pitch and manage these programs both internally and externally. The supermarketer has the:

• Drive and passion of the sales guy
• Analytical brain of the IT geek
• Business acumen of the finance team
• Customer focus of the delivery manager
• Insight of the marketer

But how will the specialists and supermarketers work together? In hub-and-spoke marketing organization structures based on centers of expertise or shared services organizations to house specialists.

The trend toward this type of organizational model is clear. According to ITSMA’s 2012 survey on marketing transformation, 62% of respondents anticipate their marketing organization to be hub-and-spoke in the near future (one to three years), compared to just under half of respondents currently.

By leveraging globally dispersed teams, agency relationships, offshore locations, and outsourcing agreements, it is now possible to take advantage of the best skills and talent when you need them. Having specialists in certain areas directed by a core in-house team of supermarketers offers both the flexibility and structure needed in today’s ever-changing marketing world.

For more information, read the latest ITSMA online survey report, Marketing Transformation: Are We There Yet?

2 Responses to “Featured Research: The Rise of the Supermarketer”

1. Lynn Hunsaker Says:
   July 31st, 2012 at 7:31 PM

   Excellent points about the changes in buyers’ processes and relevant skill sets needed among marketers. Marketers today also need to master systems thinking, change management, organizational learning, and quality tools to make agile, strong impacts both in the marketplace and within their companies.
   -Lynn Hunsaker

2. Jeanne Brown Says:
   August 7th, 2012 at 11:24 AM

   You’re right! Marketers need to be able to do EVERYTHING!

ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. We work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation.ITSMA annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account Based Marketing℠, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London, Mumbai, and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.