Unpacking Google's DMT two years on - still an enigma for many

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Google’s Digital Marketing Transformation (DMT) programme was launched in South Africa in July 2019. The need for the solution was significant then, and is even greater two years later. Despite the many benefits DMT brings for brands looking to accelerate their business growth through digital transformation, the framework remains an enigma for many marketing leaders.

As a fast recap, Google, (in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group) conducted a study to determine a digital marketing framework. This framework is used to assess the digital maturity of companies in order to help them improve their business performance. The study showed that companies fell into one of four maturity levels: nascent, emerging, connected, and multi-moment.

Using the DMT programme, brands and their agencies work to improve their digital marketing efficiency and efficacy so they can move up the maturity framework. At Incubeta we believe this can only be achieved by focussing on ‘The five As and an O’ (audience, access attribution, assets, automation and organisation).

Implementing tech in isolation doesn’t equate to transformation

One of the biggest challenges facing local businesses when it comes to digital marketing transformation is that while marketing leaders may have a grand vision for the exciting opportunities that come with powerful new MarTech, they often neglect the organisational structure, change management, and even restructuring that needs to happen in order for the tech to actually deliver. This absence of a framework, like an absence of steel girders in a tall building, has resulted in many digital tech implementations falling flat over the last few years.

We have seen that the main challenge is that too much is done in isolation. Achieving a longer-term goal in digital marketing transformation is best done through incremental advancements carried out mindfully and according to a plan.

Another big challenge is that so many organisations operate in silos. This is especially the case when it comes to technology acquisition and deployment. To add marketing tech into the greater technology ecosystem in the absence of integration into other data points such as those delivered by CRM systems or Salesforce can lead to a world of pain - both for the marketing and the tech departments.

The same applies to people. Many marketing departments have team members who come from a traditional background. When the digital team suggests a new way of doing things, this can lead to problems if there is not a clear vision.

Both the technical and the human elements need to be managed if real transformation can hope to be achieved.

Building a framework to ensure real digital adoption

Two years ago, Incubeta wrote about Google’s DMT. At that stage we noted that while Google and BCG placed just 2 percent of global brands in the most mature, or multi-moment category, in South Africa very few companies had reached the connect level - one down from multi-moment.

Twenty four months down the line we can say that there is definitely a greater awareness of the DMT programme as well as the need for a framework to support their transformational work. Unfortunately there are still too few brands taking the plunge and implementing the framework. This is particularly the case with the more traditional companies.

On the brighter side, we are seeing a number of born-digital companies that are already well on their way to becoming multi-moment organisations. One smaller company that we work with competes with some of South Africa’s largest multinationals and they have been able to leap frog the competition when it comes to digital transformation. This is due, in part, to the fact that they are an agile, smaller, born-digital company. But it also has a tremendous amount to do with the fact that they have C-level executives who are deeply invested in their digital progress and who have sponsored the DMT programme from the outset.

In fact, we believe that the organisational part of the journey cannot be underestimated. It doesn’t matter how keen the marketing team is to adopt the exciting tech that is available, unless there is proper organisational structure and adequate training, the efforts will fall flat. Any seasoned CIO will tell you that new technology must bring with it a good amount of change management and martech is no different.

Finally, attitude also has a role to play in how successful your DMT programme will be. CFOs and even marketing leaders, who remain obsessed with last click attribution are never going to understand the evolution of reaching digital maturity. Building a customer-centric, digitally mature organisation means having a holistic approach to measurement as well as implementation. And this will require altered attitudes from leaders throughout the organisation.