2012 promises to be an interesting year - elections, uncertain economics and of course an ever-evolving customer. To understand better what is likely to be big for marketers this year, we ran a poll as well as collected insights from senior marketers.

Will 2012 be different for marketers? As per the 189 who responded to our poll, yes.

In light of the Arab Spring and the rise of India and China, and propelled by social technologies, the concept of 'soft power' defined as "the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction" is ever more relevant. Or, in marketing terms, Push is out, Pull is in.

If an idea, aspiration, product, goal, ideology, culture, narrative, or national identity is attractive to its constituents, it minimizes the need for constant reinforcement and regulation - whether that is advertising, promotions, and other persuasive efforts, or bureaucracy, command-and-control, and coercion.

Pull is powerful (as John Hagel illustrates in his riveting book The Power of Pull). It has a lot of Pull (pun intended) because one doesn't have to push. It saves energy that can be invested otherwise, for example, in whatever "it" is that creates Pull. No surprise then that individuals, organizations, societies, and entire nations wish they could rely on it more.

But how does one create Pull?

A poll conducted recently asked what the biggest challenge in moving from a product-oriented business focus to a more customer-centric, solutions oriented approach was. An overwhelming percentage of the respondents selected   "managing the cultural and behavioral change" as the thorniest change that they had to make.

Here is a case study on how Avnet used Change Management Principles to make the Transition from a Products-Based Company to a Solutions Company

Avnet is a great example of how a company can apply change management processes to ensure that the new offer development methods, the solutions-oriented go-to-market strategy, and the more consultative solutions selling methods are permanently embedded into the organizational operations and business model.  The company has moved from a pure electronics distribution company in the early 2000's to a more diversified company that now generates significant revenues from its services and solutions offerings.

Job Listings on Paulwriter.com     

Paulwriter.com has some key job listings in the field of marketing for mid to senior level marketers in India. 

CMO for a fast growth, pre-IPO well-funded IT services firm. The role will include managing external agencies such as PR and design as well as handling an in-house team of marketers. The job is located in South India.

Digital Marketing Manager for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd. Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The Digital Marketing Manager (DMM) will be responsible for setting up the Digital Marketing function for the company