It was indeed a great marketing week!

The Marketing Week is growing bigger each year with a growing audience from marketers and related professionals.

Launched in 2022, the Marketers Week is set to become one of the key features on the Marketers’ calendar incorporating all related professionals ; sales , customer experience , digital marketing , public relations.

This year, the Marketing Week ran from 24 to 28 July, 2023 under the theme ‘Marketing: The engine for Business Transformation’.

MAZ Executive Secretary, Gillian Rusike said the Marketing Week was very important on the Marketers’ calendar to commemorate the profession.

“This is a platform that we say as marketing professionals we need to celebrate the gains that we have amassed through implementing proper marketing in our organisations.

Since the time we have been in existence as MAZ there are a lot of success stories that we have scores as marketing professionals even in the industry and economy because marketing is the engine for business transformation which is the theme that we are running with this week,” said Rusike.

Rusike said organisations need to move with the times to stay afloat.

“We are saying organisations need to adopt marketing for the transformation, growth and development of business and we feel that marketing is at the core of the transformation that we are talking about,” he said.

He said since the Covid 19 pandemic, technology has been an enabler of doing business for marketers.

Corporate members joined in the commemorations by bring their teardrops and banners at the MAZ offices.

The country’s top brands were represented and the teardrops were conspicuous along Prince Edward road and passer-bys stopped to ask what the event was about.

The commemorations began on Monday with a Webinar on the evolution of the Progression of Marketing in Zimbabwe- Then and Now.

Speakers for this were Andrew Tawodzera, Marketing and Corporate Communications Executive AFC Commercial Bank, Priscilla Sadomba, Head of Change Management , Xarani (Pvt Ltd) and Bhekimpilo Ntini the Group Marketing Manager for Cimas Medical Aid Society.

They spoke on how marketing has evolved in Zimbabwe.

“To understand the evolution of marketing channels over time, one has to understand the change in the consumer or customer. Ultimately Marketing is about understanding designing communicating and delivering value to your customer,” said Sadomba.

She highlighted that over the last decade or so, marketing has been transformed in ways that marketers in the 20^th century could not have imagined.

“What has changed are the tools that companies use to create value. Now customers get detailed product information from both company and other customers. The consumer is now more intelligent and well informed,” said Sadomba.

In his presentation focusing on Ntini highlighted factors affecting the implementation of digital marketing strategies among them limited internet access, low digital literacy, limited payment options and limited infrastructure.

He further highlighted that for businesses to overcome the challenges they have to repurpose international content, create original content and build partnerships.

“However, it’s important to note that creating effective digital marketing campaigns requires careful planning and a deep understanding of local audiences,” said Ntini.

Andrew Tawodzera added that failing to adapt in a changing world has led to the collapse of many businesses globally.

“It costs many more times to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. However not all customers are created equal. Some require more attention than others. Some need guidance from time and some simply do not wish to be disturbed,” said Tawodzera.

He added: “Journey mapping is one of the important factors in creating an emotional customer connection.  Define vision and culture. Empower customer facing staff. Use internal ambassadors”.

On Tuesday, Digital Marketing was the topic of the day with speakers presenting on emerging Technologies and Impact on Marketing.

Speakers for this session were Taffy Gotora, Head of Digital at Barker McCormacOgilvy and Mather, Liquid Intelligent Technologies Digital, Marketing Manager, Arthur Suwali, and Tinovimbanashe Hove who is an Advertising Practitioner.

The trio shared on emerging technologies and strategies of how to make them work for the local businesses.

“AI technologies have revolutionised the marketing landscape. In 2023, AI powered tools and Chatbots have become more prevalent, allowing business to deliver personalised customer experiences at scale,” said Gotora.

Suwali shared on prompt engineering and how to create a content calendar using Generative AI.

“Prompt engineering is the strategic use of language that takes you from input to usable output. Like programming but the difference is one using words instead of using programming language,” said Suwali.

Hove shared on proximity marketing which he said is a tactic that allows brands to target potential customers with advertising content based on their current location.

“Proximity marketing allows marketers to create a personalised experience for customers enhancing their overall customer experience,” said Hove.

On Wednesday the focus was on Sales in a Turbulent Environment. Presenters, Edmore Munyanyi Regional Business Development Manager, SADC and Conchita Veermak, Business Consultant

Munyanyi shared on the causes of a turbulent sales environment citing them as external and internal.

“In external causes, the firm has limited direct control. The causes could be changes in consumer tastes and preferences, emergence of new entrant or competitor in the market or rapid technological changes and globalisation and lastly unforeseen circumstances,” said Munyanyi.

And internal causes could be rapid product innovation and employee and talent capabilities.

He cited panning and trend analysis as some of the challenges resulting from a turbulent sales environment.

Vermaak shared on strategies to circumvent the challenges in a corporate setting among them customer relationship management, pricing strategies and stop strategy.

“Stop selling for a specified time. Watch the market and push to reduce the product that is already on the market,” she said.

On Thursday, PR gurus , Arthur Choga , PR Communications and Brands Manager at Premier Service Holding Company ;  Lloyd Gumbo Public Relations Manager and Firstme Vitori, PR and Communications Manager , Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe shared on Managing Corporate Affairs in the Era of Social Media.

The Webinar on Customer Experience Measuring Customer Experience Success capped the week long learning sessions on Friday.

Presenters for this session were Patricia Chigwa-Mutumha, CX Manager at Nicoz Diamond Insurance, Tich Gandanhamo, CX Head, Ecobank and Sharon Tapesa, Contact Centre Manager at Nedbank Zimbabwe Limited.

Tapesa highlighted the key metrics for measuring CX success, among them, the net promoter score. Customer satisfaction etc. 

She highlights that the choice of metrics varies according to organisations or industry.

“Select appropriate metrics for your organization. Use metrics that align with organizational goals, monitor key metrics and analyse trends. Use the data to improve customer experience,” said Tapesa.

Mutumha shared Measuring CX success. She highlights that corporates have taken a deliberate step to measure CX success.

She added on how to create a great customer experience one has to understand the customer needs, define the customer journey, use tech to enhance experience and personalise the experience.

Gandanhamo shared on formulas to measure CX success.

Various provincial activities concluded the packed Marketing Week.

In Harare, marketers were treated to a Marketers Braai /Karaoke Friday, In Mutare the professionals gathered at the Manica SkyView Conference for the Marketers Seed Networking Cocktail and in Bulawayo for the

In Mutare, over 50 guests they kicked off with the speed networking cocktail where members had the opportunity to network and share on their businesses.

In Bulawayo, a Public Lecture was held at Bulawayo Polytechnic with a presentation on the Topic Grooming for Work.

On Friday, Marketers in Harare rounded off the Marketing Week with a Braai/Karaoke session.

The Karaoke session was attended by almost 100 people who took time to network and sing along to their favourite jams while they enjoyed the braai.