Melissa Fernandez of Destination Interactive guest-writes for Loyalty 360's State of the Industry series:
If you're like most marketers today, you probably can't keep up with how technology is changing the way you approach your current customers and ideal prospects. With emerging media on the rise, marketers are more perplexed than ever on how to create the best personalized experience for consumers who choose to interact with their brands.
It is a cause for concern when companies who have invested in social media efforts have no information on how it has impacted their business. According to eMarketer, 32% of retailers believe that monetization has occurred but cannot demonstrate it definitely, and 38% have no evidence that monetization has occurred. Additionally, a recent King Fish Media study revealed that 63% of mobile marketers are either not even trying to measure return on investment on mobile campaigns or don't know how.
What's the answer? A return to Branding 101:
- Keep a consistent and clear message across all mediums that can be emotionally felt by consumers. Cross-promoting content across all mediums will help your company grow as the source of essential information regarding a particular topic. Discover your audience's favorite topics and put your compelling content on display in a controlled manner. Immerse consumers in your brand to rise above the clutter. Your message should move prospects smoothly down the path of behavior from awareness to consideration to an actual purchase. Breaking the silos between offline and online is the optimal way of linking a consumer's physical world with their online world. There is no silver bullet for acquisition and retention, but by keeping your efforts true to your unique value proposition you are sure to connect and foster a relationship with your customers.
- Understand how consumers engage with each medium.Consumers interact with brands across all mediums, both on and offline. It is important to understand the various online strategies that exist, but many brands simply pick and choose mediums based on the latest trends. In an online environment, consumers want to interact and engage with content. Dynamic and compelling visuals, stories and content are a must to grab their attention and elicit a reaction from them. First time prospects who choose to listen to your message want to understand what you do and how you can solve their problems. Repeat customers are looking for new tips and tricks: enhanced methods of getting things done quickly and more efficiently with your products and services. Give consumers an experience to remember-let them play and visualize with your brand while also providing you with feedback. Your marketing efforts need to respect and embrace their preferences in listening to your message and tuning out the "noise" of your competitors.
- Collect data and use it intelligently to develop a conversation with your customers. Energize loyal customers of your products and services by having them share their stories. Gather this user-generated content and use it to develop the way you interact with customers just like them. In order to address the key issue or problem that customers are facing, marketing departments need to communicate and establish dialogue to tackle any internal and external obstacles they encounter. Only then will marketers be able to truly understand the value of their consumer's data and foster a true connection.
As marketers, we are responsible for large advertising budgets that heavily impact the state of businesses in today's volatile economy. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the impact of online marketing efforts and how they pertain to offline sales. Dollars need to be invested more intelligently rather than just spent.
When did we stop accounting for our strategies with key performance metrics? Not having the proper tools in place for proper analysis of your campaigns is no longer an option. It is essential for marketers who want to move forward and stay ahead of their competitors to learn how to make the most of their ability to connect with their prospective consumers. Marketers need to gain a true understanding of the technology that is available to them, and how it will increase ROI. Most importantly, they need to recognize how the technology fits into their current marketing mix, not how it replaces it.
Compelling and personalized content is the key to increasing customer loyalty. A relationship is not built overnight and cannot be solved alone with one new technology craze. It is a two-way connection that needs to be nurtured and supported with insightful information that evokes the best decisions and approaches to the burdens of everyday work life, family life, and so forth. Consumers will continue to search for better ideas, higher quality products, and new solutions to their problems. How will your brand choose to engage with them and turn them into loyal customers?