Every industry is facing a major transformation. You could say they’re rebranding in certain aspects. Those who have not historically seen themselves as “technology” organizations are embracing emerging technology such as AI to reach out to their customers more smoothly and personally than ever before. To achieve this at scale, marketers have a tremendous chance to lead the way.

With the profusion of tools, data, and working methods, the trip can appear daunting. So, as a marketer, what can you do to assist your brand to prosper in this new era?

Here are five strategies for future-proofing your brand:

1. Find your big idea

One of the most critical questions a brand can ask itself is: “What is our big idea?” Why does your company matter? Who does it matter to? Oftentimes, the answer is within a company’s core values.

For IBM, it’s 108 years of bringing the next generation of technology and industry expertise to help our clients transform in every era, always with trust, security and responsible stewardship. From a creative perspective, that shows up in our icons and our campaigns. “Let’s put smart to work” is an invitation that shows our willingness to roll up our sleeves with our clients, bring the best of technology, the best of our people and the best of our culture to help them thrive, era after era.

That’s our big idea, our grand purpose, our north star, and why we’re one of the only tech companies to reinvent itself over and over again.

2. Know the user as well as the buyer to serve her better

The foundation of marketing has shifted. Marketers and brands used to set expectations for consumers. Now, consumers set the expectations. They’re the ones in control.

Technology is in the hands of millions of end users, and buyers are being shaped by their personal experiences as consumers. To create relevant experiences, you must develop mechanisms to deeply understand the user.

We’re harnessing the power of billions of data points collected from every client interaction. Through the power of NPS feedback instrumented across all of our offerings, we can understand and physically see what users are saying they love and don’t love. More importantly, we can act on that feedback immediately and close the loop with our end users.

3. Understand and improve every dollar you spend

Marketing now has a well-earned seat at the table, but our success depends on proving that marketing matters, and that means running it like a business. Every marketer should be asking themselves three questions: 1. What is marketing’s contribution to revenue? 2. What is the return on every marketing dollar spent? And, most importantly, 3. Where is my next marketing dollar best spent?

Read Also: Impact of Branding on Consumer Purchase Decisions

To start, it’s important to establish a common data foundation and radical investment transparency across the organization–the whole organization, including finance and sales. Once you’ve established that common platform, you can start to integrate new tools to make marketers work smarter and drive improved business results.

As a CMO and as a marketer, this is where you can become a bit of a venture capitalist. Do you want to put more money into a campaign that is underperforming or one that is outperforming? Are your events adding value or would your dollars be best spent elsewhere? Ask the right questions, test and then consult the data to make changes and optimize.

4. Create an open, agile culture where people can do their best work

One of IBM’s greatest brand stewards, Jon Iwata, once said that “culture moves in a linear way, technology moves exponentially.” It’s true that the latest, most innovative solutions can oftentimes be the hardest to measure, predict and put into market.

That, however, is not a company’s greatest challenge. The challenge becomes establishing and maintaining a culture that’s prepared to tackle these challenges in an open, collaborative, cross-functional way. Teams must fundamentally break down the siloes in which they’ve operated in favor of becoming agile to the core, learning quickly from every failure and success.

For us, that has meant educating all marketers on agile values and principles, investing in world-class spaces for teams to work together, identifying agile coaches to globally support over 200 agile marketing teams in their mission and continuously learning what’s working and not working through an Agile Health Radar. This particular mission is both the hardest and the most gratifying. It’s a journey without a destination. It’s always being better tomorrow.

5. Embrace the technologies that will shape our profession

We believe that AI will change the way marketers work in three ways:

• 1. Changing what we know: Gone are the days of qualitative focus groups behind closed doors. Now, with AI, we can understand so much more about our customers, at scale. One way we can achieve this is through Watson Tone Analyzer. The tool allows marketers to analyze the emotion and tone of what consumers write online in tweets or reviews, for example. This becomes especially important in an online chat experience, enabling better monitoring of customer support conversations to determine if a customer is satisfied or frustrated and if agents are polite and sympathetic. With these insights, you can build more effective dialog strategies to adjust the conversations accordingly.

• 2. Changing how we interact: We have a huge opportunity to say farewell to static, broadcast digital ads. More and more consumers are looking for ways to have 1:1 engagement with their favorite brands. Watson Ads Builder is one way that marketers can quickly get started. Through natural language generation and industry learnings, it empowers marketers, developers and agencies to seamlessly build relevant conversational experiences that can be deployed across touchpoints. And just imagine the rich data you get back when consumers start interacting with your “ads” and telling you what they really want.

• 3. Changing how we work: While taking action based on relevant data is critical, we are getting better at being able to predict effectiveness before it happens. As a marketer works, they can be notified when the AI-powered marketing platform identifies a potential weakness in their campaign and provides a couple of recommended actions they could take to optimize the effectiveness of the campaign, all in real time. It’s critical for marketers to interact with those alerts, as the platform learns over time. AI will augment the marketing professional to help us do our best work.

How Can I be Future-proof?

What will your employment look like in five years? Will it still exist in five, ten, or twenty years? And what will happen to the company and sector for which you work?

We don’t know what the future contains, but we do know that we live in chaotic and changing times. This means that your job description may be extremely different – or perhaps obsolete – in the future.

If your skill set or expertise is “out of date,” you may have difficulty finding job or advancing. However, there are tactics you can implement right now to avoid a career “dead end.”

1. Find an “Academy” Organization

Whether you’re starting out in your career or have an opportunity to change direction midway, apply for roles at companies that invest in their people’s development. Telecoms company AT&T, HR services provider Randstad, and hotel chain Marriott International, for example, are among those known for the quality of their training and development programs.

When you work for organizations like these, you’ll more likely fulfill your potential. You’ll be enrolled in continuous development programs that go beyond the technical skills you need for your current role.

2. Remain Tech-Savvy

Push yourself to keep your technical skills current, even if new developments don’t seem directly related to your current job. Otherwise, you may need to catch up a huge amount before you can head off in a new direction in the future.

If that means becoming familiar with coding, virtual whiteboards, wearable technology, or AI, do it. And if you’re in a highly technical field of work, be proactive and stay current – even if your company does not.

3. Develop Skills to Carry With You

Continue your professional development by learning the transferable skills that all employers seek. Skills such as leadership, communication, innovation, and stress management, for example, are core competencies in the jobs of today and tomorrow.

Developing a broad range of competencies, skills and abilities can help you to secure a new job or open the door to working in a new industry. That’s why you might see, for example, a nurse with business skills, and a web designer with financial experience.

Here are some ways to do this:

• Use the tips in Personal Goal Setting article to set development goals for yourself.
• Choose two competencies or skills to improve each year. Monitor and track your progress.
• Develop a five-year personal learning plan to acquire the knowledge and education you need.
• Develop broad cross-functional skills. Beyond a certain stage in your career, and in uncertain environments, specialization can pay off, but you run a high risk of your skills and knowledge becoming outdated.

4. Think Globally

Look beyond your local business community, find out about your sector in other territories, and open your mind to new attitudes and techniques.

Businesses operate more globally – and are more culturally diverse – than ever before, and chances are that your co-workers, clients and stakeholders work throughout the world. The more experience you can get of working with them, the more confident you’ll be. This will make you more attractive to employers of the future.

You could develop your ability to work globally by learning about working with diverse cultures, by asking for assignments that require international exposure or connections, and by learning another language.

5. Keep a “Success Journal”

Keep a record of what you do well, the accolades that you’ve received, and the results that you’ve been responsible for. Employers want to know what you’ll do for them, and it’s easier to recall your successes and strengths when you have an accurate, up-to-date list to hand.

The time to do this is now – not while you’re applying for a promotion or about to switch roles.

Start by tracking your duties, projects and results, and listing the professional development activities that you’ve participated in. List any training that you’ve completed, note any volunteer work, and file appraisals and emails that mention your performance.

Use this success journal to continually record your strengths and successes, and to affirm your qualities. We all need to boost our confidence and self-esteem at times.

Having a clear and objective list of strengths and accomplishments, and a positive reputation, can boost your motivation and belief in your abilities. It’s also a great way to overcome impostor syndrome and to prove to yourself that you can do it!

6. Build Your Professional Network

Develop relationships or build new connections with people within and outside of your organization.

These people can be invaluable support as the landscape of work changes, bringing you with them as they weather the changes, and providing opportunities when your position looks uncertain. You’ll have the bonus of learning new skills, technologies and strategies that will help you to move your career in the direction you want.

Ways to build your network include joining an employee resource group and contacting former bosses and colleagues through social media.

Also, join online forums and professional networking associations such as YEC, Ryze and WEBS, and participate in a range of industry events and activities. Remember to develop relationships beyond your current career or industry, too.

And pay ongoing attention to your personal brand – the way in which you portray yourself to others, in person and online. That way you’ll always make the best impression, and continually strengthen your reputation and employability!

7. Scan the Environment

Follow changes and trends in your profession, your industry, and the wider economy. Keep yourself informed, and aim to work in industries and for employers that have a positive outlook and long-term sustainability.

Consuming quality news and your industry press will keep you up to date with business trends. Completing a PEST analysis for your industry (and for any others that you’re interested in) will help you to get a grip on the political, economic, social, and technological changes shaping its environment.

You could also analyze your organization’s attractiveness using Porter’s Five Forces and USP Analysis, and back your hunches and analysis with action. For example, if your analysis suggests that your company is not in a strong position to withstand potential changes, think about what you can do to help to make it more resilient.

Overall, it’s wise to avoid industries and organizations that are on a downward slide, because you’ll eventually have to leave. It is better to prepare now.