Five significant trends that point to marketing’s future

Mark Schaefer
6 min readSep 20, 2021

In two years, we won’t recognize our jobs in marketing. I believe the world is changing that fast! I love scanning the horizon for ideas and trends that will shape our lives. There are LOTS of changes in marketing’s future, but here are five that signal new directions for our profession:

1. The Experience Designer

Two years ago I observed a trend that the Chief Marketing Officer title has been morphing to Chief Experience Officer, or CXO. I think this is a healthy trend, acknowledging that our marketing success is truly shaped by the 360-degree customer experience. Naturally, the CMO should be responsible for every touchpoint that influences customer perceptions of our organization.

Now, there’s a new job title floating around that takes this development to the next level: Experience Designer. Yes, that’s a real job!

Think about the increasingly difficult challenge of connecting to customers through ads and content. It’s getting tougher and tougher to break through. But customers seek positive, engaging, and entertaining experiences.

I’m energized by the fact that the next iteration of marketing is laser-focused on the total customer experience. That’s the way it should be!

2. Real-time customer…

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Mark Schaefer

Keynote speaker, marketing strategy consultant, Rutgers U faculty and author of 10 books including KNOWN, Marketing Rebellion, and Belonging to the Brand!