Over the last several weeks, marketing professionals have been blogging and tweeting about the marketing trends and strategies that they expect to be big in 2011. There have been many blog posts on the growth of social media and 2011 being the year of mobile advertising. Other marketers are talking about the impact that personalized, printed marketing collateral will have as consumers begin to require the tangible, relevant, and unique touch offered by a piece of mail specifically meant for them. Still, others are questioning how successful email campaigns will be as prospects begin to receive more and more emails on their smart phones. Needless to say, all of this can get a little overwhelming and you may find yourself wondering what is it going to take to make your organization stand above the competition in 2011?

As everyone begins to adopt a mixture of marketing strategies and incorporate traditional advertising channels with emerging technologies, it may seem like adapting to the latest marketing trends is top priority. However, concentrating on coming up with a Big Idea or conforming to the latest trends add a lot of pressure, risk, and can consume a lot of resources. Not to mention, in this global economy, it’s a pretty safe to say that there is always going to be an organization with more funds, a bigger creative agency, and more willingness to take risks.

So, what if it’s not about coming up with the next big idea or fitting in with the latest trends? What if it’s about being more consistent, more efficient, and managing your resources more effectively? What if it’s about using the available client and prospect information to meaningfully connect with your audience on a personal level? What if it’s about gaining a better understanding by measuring your efforts and using the metrics to informatively build your marketing strategy? What if it’s about finding a way to manage your different communication channels on one platform, so you don’t waste time and energy bouncing around between disparate systems with different login information and reporting standards? Once you begin to combine your data and resources into one platform and discover the tools that help you protect the brand, maintain compliance, and automate communication channels, then you can focus more energy on strategy, creativity, and innovation. The companies that do this are the ones that will have the competitive advantage, not just in 2011, but for the long haul.

If you’re interested in finding out how DocuStar can help you create a solid marketing foundation for the future, please let us know. We would love to share our success stories of how we have helped some household names become the powerhouses they are today.