5 Ways to Reach
Customers in the Digital Era
Source: Kamal
Tahir
Marketers have grown up with the
foundation of the four Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion and place.
These are as relevant today as they were when first coined for both online and
offline efforts. However, as time passes and the discipline of marketing
becomes more complex and more enabled, additional factors come into play to
augment and enhance the foundation, especially as marketers navigate a
fragmented marketing structure encompassing online and offline data and
tactics. Here are five key factors that have the power to impact marketing
performance:
- Personalized: This goes hand-in-hand with using predictive
analytics, but incorporates what's known about customers. Factors range
from the preferred mode of communication (e.g., are they more likely to
respond to email or direct mail) to the type of messaging that resonates
with them. Take for example two people living in the same neighborhood who
are in the market to purchase an SUV. Perhaps the same vehicle would fill
the needs of both people, but customized communication tailored to their
interests and needs would result in one being more outdoor-focused,
featuring messaging and images as such, while the other features the same
vehicle being used to haul materials for business. Don't forget to
customize delivery to a preferred channel — email for one, Facebook for
the other. Doing so further creates a personalized experience based on the
user's preference.
- Permission powered: A key way to engage customers and prospects is to
have them opt in to receiving communications from your brand.
Permission-based marketing is getting more specific in terms of types of
products, mode of communication, frequency, etc. Review current
personalization capabilities being provided to customers; they provide a
detailed road map to help deliver more effective campaigns.
- Peer reviewed: Peer reviews are important for specifics about a
product's performance. The value of peer reviews increases with factors
such as location or keywords used by a reviewer to describe themselves.
Customers may be more interested in the perspective of a fellow reviewer
who is more like them than someone who is less similar to them. Enable
shoppers to sort or select the reviews by ratings and various criteria
about those providing reviews.
- Proactive:
Being proactive in implementing one or all of the factors above is
important. Don't wait for customers to tell you what they want, as they
may do so by going to your competition. Don't wait for a "critical
mass" in your competitive set to start following these guidelines.
Use it as a competitive advantage for better customer engagement and
higher return on investment. Listen to your customers, anticipate what
they want and when they want it, then deliver it.
Adding Ps to the marketing mix may seem
complex and time consuming. While there is an element of complexity present,
better planning and proactive solutions take time. The returns, however, can be
great. There are a growing set of solutions available to marketers which can
help even the smallest of businesses become better engaged and drive better
results. It's no longer for just the big companies.
The final P? Stay positive. While trends
and buzzwords will come and go, the movement towards better engagement with the
factors noted above is a win-win for businesses and buyers.
Kamal Tahir is senior manager of
product management at Experian.
