But does this contribute to a better society? That is what questions Marketing 5.0.

Marketing 5.0 is yet another concept created by Philip Kotler , following the history of marketing that was born there in Marketing 1.0 and evolves as consumers and technologies change.

In today’s era, technology permeates all spheres of our lives. But consumers are concerned about the effect this will have on humanity and its quality of life. For this reason, companies must put technology at the service of people’s well-being and not the other way around.

If you work with marketing, it is important that you know this concept. Let’s now understand what Marketing 5.0 is and how we got to this stage of marketing, for this, we have prepared this content with a lot of valuable material.

What is Marketing 5.0?

Marketing 5.0 is the stage of the evolutionary chain of marketing marked by the power of technology in favor of people’s quality of life and well-being. If the digital age puts technology at the center of our lives, it must contribute to the good of humanity.

The concept is explained in the book “ Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity ”, written by Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya and Iwan Setiawan. Kotler, it should be remembered, is one of the main authors and scholars of modern marketing and a benchmark for professionals in the field.

The work had its first edition published in English in January 2021, so it is strongly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic. In this context, businesses accelerated their digitization, different sectors of the economy were affected, and consumers changed their behavior.

In the technological field, we have seen the emergence and growth of new terms and tools. Marketing 5.0, these technologies begin to enter our lives and transform our reality, which in the future may reach the metaverse :

• artificial intelligence (AI) ;
• Natural Language Processing ( NLP );
• sensors and robotics;
• Augmented reality (AR);
• Virtual reality (VR);
• Internet of Things (IoT);
• Blockchain.

Therefore, the time has come for companies to unleash the full potential of technologies in their marketing strategies and operations, but thinking about people, instead of subjugating humans to technologies.

Marketing 5.0 in Society 5.0

The concept of Marketing 5.0 is inspired by the idea of ​​Society 5.0, which was created in 2016 by the Japanese government in the 5th Basic Plan for Science and Technology, as a vision of what the country should be in the future.

Society 5.0 is marked by artificial intelligence technologies and hyperconnectivity, which are changing social and industrial structures. These technologies seek to make people’s lives easier and add value.

However, many times they end up interfering in family and work relationships and setting a pace that we can no longer follow.

You may have already noticed, for example, how delivery apps like iFood and Uber Eats tackle the challenges of delivery people, right? What about accommodation booking platforms like Airbnb that are criticized in cities for causing gentrification ?

What about social networks, which generate the feeling of always being out (Fear of Missing Out or FOMO)? And the algorithms, which require an unbridled pace of content production, allow the dissemination of fake news and influence the elections of different countries?

What about the use of data by companies, which end up violating people’s privacy and opening gaps for fraud and cyberattacks?

These are examples of how technology and hyper-connectivity affect our lives, not always for the better.

So, what the concept of Society 5.0 proposes is that smart technologies —smart homes, smart cities, smart watches, etc.— are used in the most diverse social spheres to really improve people’s lives, with a focus on efficiency and quality of life. .

Therefore, Marketing 5.0 also follows this line, but from the perspective of companies, which can and must also contribute to building this more inclusive and sustainable society.

How has Marketing evolved over the years?

Marketing evolved from product-centric (1.0) to consumer-centric (2.0, then to human-centric (4.0), then marketing entered the digital age (4.0), but now finds itself embroiled in the challenges that technology has brought to humanity (5.0).

This is a summary of the evolution of marketing over the years, which we will detail below. But do not understand each stage as definitive: there are companies that still think with the Marketing 1.0 or 2.0 mentality. There are even brands that focus only on their products or that have not yet entered the digital transformation …

Thus, understand this division into stages of evolution as a marketing guideline for those businesses that want to adapt to the changes in the world and succeed in the market. If you’re one of these companies, then you’ll love what’s coming.

Next, we will detail how we got to the current scenario of Marketing 5.0, with a resumption of all the previous steps.

Marketing 1.0

At first, marketing was focused on its production and its products. The intention was to show that they had the best processes and products of the best quality. ISO certifications, for example, are symbolic of this marketing mindset.

In that context, there was not even an attempt at brand differentiation and audience segmentation. With few competitors in the market, it was enough to highlight the functional attributes of its products and direct the communication to the great mass of consumers.

We are also talking about the beginning of the advertising era , which created campaigns and advertisements for mass communication vehicles, such as television, radio, and magazines. The message was the same for all consumers, regardless of whether they differed from each other, as is evident in the next step.

Marketing 2.0

In Marketing 2.0, companies realize that consumers are not all the same. Treating the market as a large mass no longer works, because the number of competitors has grown and people have become more demanding of brands.

Therefore, marketing becomes consumer-centric. It is necessary to understand their behaviors and interests and group them into segments with common characteristics, what we call target audience. From there, it is possible to outline branding, advertising and communication strategies aimed at each target audience.

In this context, some marketing and advertising channels with the possibility of audience segmentation have already emerged, such as specialized magazines, cable television channels, and radio and television programs for certain audiences.

Marketing 3.0

If Marketing 1.0 was focused on the product and Marketing 2.0 was focused on the consumer, Marketing 3.0 is focused on the human being.

If Marketing 1.0 communicated with the mass and Marketing 2.0 targeted the segment, Marketing 3.0 focuses on the individual.

After all, consumers are not a large homogeneous mass, nor a goal to be achieved. They are human beings, in all their complexity and uniqueness, with values ​​behind their actions and behaviors.

At this stage, people expect brands to showcase their values ​​and the causes they champion. People no longer want companies that only care about their products, but rather think about their impact on the planet. And, with the Internet and Digital Marketing already on the scene, this consumer is gaining a voice and prominence to influence brands.

Marketing then moves on to adopt personalization strategies that go beyond segmentation and communicate specifically with each person. In addition, it is also the stage of humanization of brands, which want to show their personality, their purpose, their values ​​and their causes, in order to awaken people’s identification.

Marketing 4.0

Marketing 4.0 marks the transition from marketing to the digital economy. Nothing that characterizes Marketing 3.0 is lost, however, now technology is much more present in people’s lives, in all their areas, in all their relationships.

Along the same lines, artificial intelligence technologies, big data, virtual reality and other concepts are beginning to emerge that are still being consolidated in Marketing 5.0. But companies are already undergoing a digital transformation to put this type of technology at the center of their strategies in order to generate more value for consumers.

In the migration to Marketing 5.0, what happens is that these technologies must now be turned to the good of humanity. Marketing 5.0 combines the human centrality of Marketing 3.0 and the technological empowerment of Marketing 4.0, but adds concern for creating a more inclusive and sustainable society.

What is the importance of Marketing 5.0?

Marketing 5.0 offers guidance for businesses after a huge digitization movement and a period of extreme instability due to Covid-19.

It’s like companies are emerging after a turbulent period and now with all these technologies in their hands, they don’t know what to do. Philip Kotler, then, uses this concept to say that it is necessary to direct these technologies for the good of humanity.

The period of the pandemic was not only a time for companies to digitize, but also for reflection on their role in the world. If Marketing 3.0 had already raised the need to position oneself in the face of world problems. Now Marketing 5.0 reinforces this theme, but now crossed with the power of cutting-edge digital tools.

Brands need to think about how to use new technologies to drive marketing, sales, and revenue, but in a way that aligns with consumer behaviors and expectations. They want companies committed to society and the planet.

For this reason, as in the other stages, Marketing 5.0 is important so that your brand aligns with changes in technology and consumer behavior and remains relevant in the market. This should require a change in mindset, which you must prepare yourself to face.

What are the components of Marketing 5.0?

According to Philip Kotler, the technologies will enable marketing to be data-driven, predictive, contextual, augmented, and agile.

Predictive marketing, contextual marketing, and augmented marketing would be interrelated applications in this area, while data-driven marketing and agile marketing are disciplines that underpin these applications.

Let us now understand what are the components of Marketing 5.0:

Data Driven Marketing

Data-driven marketing is the activity of collecting big data from various internal and external sources and using it in decision making.

From this perspective, every decision must be made based on data. To do this, it is necessary to ensure that marketing has a sufficient volume of data, as well as reliability and variety of sources.

Agile marketing

Agile marketing is another discipline that supports the implementation of this area in companies in Marketing 5.0. It is about the adoption of decentralized, multidisciplinary and collaborative teams to increase the efficiency and agility of marketing strategies.

In a scenario that has increasingly constant and rapid changes, companies must have the agility to respond quickly to the market.

Predictive marketing

Predictive marketing works with predictive analytics. This type of analytics analyzes data for behavior patterns and market trends to predict marketing outcomes and better prepare for opportunities and threats.

To foster this predictivity, companies must create a data system—with policies, tools, and often machine learning technologies—that enable them to generate forward-looking business intelligence.

Marketing contextual

Contextual marketing happens in the physical space, through sensors and digital interfaces, which should allow companies to offer the right product to the ideal customer. The intention is to create a personalized experience, according to the context of each consumer.

In this way, this category has been happening for a few years in digital marketing, through emails or personalized ads based on browsing history. New technologies now make it possible to bring this personalization to the physical world, with a new consumer experience.

Augmented marketing

Augmented marketing includes the use of chatbot and virtual assistant technologies, which imitate humans in interactions with consumers.

In this way, it is possible to provide an optimized and personalized service, without losing the humanity that attendees must have with people. This also allows you to speed up responses to consumers and improve the day-to-day life of sellers.

How to apply Marketing 5.0 in your company?

Now, let’s see some tips on how to implement Marketing 5.0 in your company. It is an implementation that can take time, take the first step by following these key tips:

Invest in advanced technology

Marketing 5.0 is based on advanced technologies. Do not think that the digitization of your business will be limited to your presence on social networks or the creation of your brand’s e-commerce, okay?

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, the Internet of Things, among others, must be part of your planning. It is what Kotler calls next technology.

If investing in these technologies is still far from your business, think about specialized companies that outsource products and services with solutions of this type.

Create a data ecosystem

In Marketing 5.0, working with data must be present from the beginning to the end of the projects. For this, it is important to create a data ecosystem that uses different data sources, that integrates the information and generates intelligence from its treatment and analysis.

Another important measure in this data ecosystem is to define policies in accordance with the General Law on Protection of Personal Data. Remember that the essence of Marketing 5.0 is the well-being of people, and any risk of fraud, theft or misuse of customer data goes in the opposite direction.

Work with agile methodologies

As we discussed a few paragraphs back, agile marketing is one of the core disciplines of Marketing 5.0. Therefore, it is time to implement agile methodologies in your business, to be able to respond in real time to the demands and expectations of consumers.

Agile Marketing is a methodology that is inspired by the Agile of information technology. It is a way to adopt short work cycles, multidisciplinary teams, collaboration and iteration, instead of long marketing campaigns that only respond to the market at the end of projects, when they have already wasted time.

Mapping the technology consumer journey

Marketing 5.0 unites the human being (Marketing 3.0) and technological power (Marketing 4.0). So one important practice to embrace this concept is to investigate the consumer journey from a technology standpoint.

Map the steps of the consumer in their purchase journey, keeping an eye on the cutting-edge solutions they use to reach your products. Therefore, understand which Marketing Technologies ( Martech ) can also contribute to increasing the value of the customer journey, at the points of contact with your brand.

Making technology more personal, social and experiential

Think of technologies to improve the experience of people in contact with your brand. From the trip, imagine how they can be more personal, social and experiential, not just commercial.

Remember, the intention is to do good for the consumer, not just make them buy.

According to Kotler, companies need to demonstrate how technology, applied properly, can increase the degree of happiness of people, instead of creating barriers, ending social relationships, speeding up life at an unbridled pace, among other problems that we have seen in recent years.

Align strategies with sustainable development goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created by the United Nations in 2015. There are 17 goals, based on the principles of inclusion and sustainability, which aim to guide key decision-makers in addressing social and environmental challenges. more pressing.

Some examples are the eradication of poverty, quality education and gender equality. For your company, these global development objectives can also guide the definition of marketing strategies, aligned with Marketing 5.0.

We’re done for now!

In summary, these are the tips to start adopting Marketing 5.0. Evolving your business to adapt to the marketing stages is essential to align with technology and consumer changes.

Do not rush, this adaptation does not happen overnight, because it requires changes in the culture and behavior of your brand.

But, with the above tips, you can start adapting to Marketing 5.0. Now, take the opportunity to read about an essential strategy to adapt to the consumer of the digital age: Mobile Marketing Tactics. Take advantage of your digital techniques!