Bringing Precision to CONVERSION MARKETING
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Bringing Precision to CONVERSION MARKETING Connecting the dots toward a deeper understanding of customers BRINGING PRECISION TO CONVERSION MARKETING marketers’ appetite for the digital ad medium. From Personalization to Precision A recent eMarketer report, for example, cited a Clearly, there is a widening gap between what Duke University study in which CMOs across marketers consider to be “personalized” and what multiple industries – from healthcare, banking and consumers perceive as relevant. Many of us have technology to retail, manufacturing and consumer experienced this in our everyday lives. You may packaged goods – said they planned to increase their casually browse an online retailer just once and be digital marketing spending over the next 12 months bombarded for the next several days by overtures Marketers can achieve greater relevancy by by anywhere from 8-22%. These same companies from the company as if you were a loyal customer. plan to reduce their traditional ad budgets by as Just think about all the “exclusive for you” branded connecting the dots on all of the available data much as 7-12%, according to the study, while upping promotional offers delivered through our e-mail their overall marketing spending in a wide range: inboxes or favorite web pages that end up ignored or and by working toward a deeper understanding anywhere from 1-20%. discarded as if they were the equivalent of spam. of their customers. DUE DILIGENCE: The Data Audit he quest for relevance is an age-old struggle in The question is: To what end? Are marketers If you ask any marketer, “How well do you know your customers?” you’re likely to raise a few marketing, but it has taken on a new urgency who employ all of these data-driven methods eyebrows. The truth is, it is difficult to get an objective answer to this question. Experts in the field in the digital age. Increasingly, the old rules getting more of their messages through to the have a suggestion: Start by looking at the data. T of mass marketing no longer apply. Opportu- right recipients? Are they strengthening bonds “The reality is, most CPG companies have very limited and inconsistent information about their nities to reach consumers through deeper insights with customers, providing real value in the form of customers. Their databases are relatively thin,” says Mark Hertenstein, Senior Vice President of and with greater precision abound in this era of more relevant offers or increasing the likelihood of Enterprise Solutions at Epsilon. data-driven marketing. purchases? A food manufacturer, for example, may have captured a customer’s name and e-mail address Recent trends are in the marketer’s favor. More While there are no easy answers, evidence suggests when he or she downloaded a recipe or signed consumers are exploring products and shopping on- that at least some of the efforts to target customers up for a promotion. Often times, however, that’s line, for example, leaving behind a valuable digital on a more personal level are falling on deaf ears. For where the data trail stops. A brand may have footprint. Today’s digital marketing landscape is instance, a recent global survey by Accenture found a basic demographic profile of its user base, awash in so-called “hyper-personalization” tech- that 42% of consumers are willing to pay for ad thanks to first-party research from the likes of niques, as companies seek to leverage this data trail blocking services that eliminate interruptions from Nielsen or IRI. But it must then work with a third- in order to tailor ad messages and promotional of- online ads. The alarmingly high figure was a clear party vendor like Epsilon to create additional fers to increasingly smaller segments of their tar- indication that “too many ads are poorly targeted,” contact points and a deeper understanding of get audience. Meanwhile, transactional data from said one top Accenture executive upon the release those consumers, Hertenstein says. “Now you not only know where they live, sources like retailer loyalty card programs provides of the report. Simply put, a misplaced ad has a high but what type of house they have, how many a window into purchase behavior and a platform chance of being regarded by consumers as irrelevant kids, their hobbies and interests,” he says. from which to launch shopper programs that are or a waste of time. “Do that across your database, and then you targeted specifically to those behaviors. Such cautionary statistics have not curbed have something to segment. Are they budget strapped? Health conscious? The deeper you go, the more meaningful the segments you can create.” “The technology marketers use to be Have marketers done their data audit? Here are five key questions to ask: 1. Do you have a sense of who your shoppers/consumers are or could be? relevant is accelerating as quickly as 2. Have you appended that basic profile with third-party data to complete the technology consumers possess to the view of the consumer? 3. Are you distinguishing data for insights and data for action? turn us off if we’re not.” 4. Are you connecting your message to the transaction? 5. Is your messaging driving the consumer towards a purchase? ALICIA SMESTAD, EVP, Senior Group Director and Senior Vice President, Catapult 2 3 BRINGING PRECISION TO CONVERSION MARKETING demographic indexing. Too often, it tries to tailor a robust way, either because they don’t see the value one-size-fits-all message to groups that may or may of it or they think it’s covered by consumer insights,” not represent a company’s most valuable customers. Smestad says. “Generally speaking, shopper insights “Adding this new layer of precision to conver- are seen as an afterthought.” sion marketing helps minimize waste because we’re Consumer insights seek to uncover people’s wants delivering the right message to the right people at and needs: their usage or attitudes towards a brand the right time,” says Brian Cohen, Executive Vice or product. Shopper insights delve into behavioral President/Group Director and Head of Digital factors such as barriers to purchase in an attempt to Integration at Catapult. “It will get us closer to the position a brand within a unique shopping solution. point where we stop thinking about reach, frequen- By thinking of these as two unrelated sets of data, cy and impressions. We need to focus on sales and marketers often fail to gain a complete picture of other key performance indicators that marketers the shopper’s decision-making process. are increasingly judged on for their success.” “Because today’s shopping journey is so fragment- A 10-step action plan can be found on page 6. In ed and there are so many digital behaviors involved, the following sections, we examine how marketers you cannot isolate the consumer from the shopper,” can merge shopper/consumer insights, improve says Mark Hertenstein, Senior Vice President of the segmentation process, strengthen messaging Enterprise Solutions at Epsilon. “We have to chal- and enrich measurement techniques – the four lenge our usual definitions of consumer insights and So where are marketers going wrong? but it is still too focused on delivery improvement key pillars of a more precise conversion-marketing frame them more around the shopper. We need to “Marketers are not using all of the available data and optimization, versus relevance.” strategy. start asking deeper questions in order to figure out to get a better picture of who their customers are Over the past two years, Catapult has been how we should engage and talk to our customers or what might be useful or relevant to them,” says refining its chief marketing model, known as PILLAR ONE: along their digital and physical journeys.” Alicia Smestad, EVP, Senior Group Director at conversion marketing, adding depth and precision Insights Knowing which questions to ask is part of the Catapult. “The same types of marketing, messaging through enhanced segmentation techniques. learning process as brands go deeper into segmentation. Bring shopper to the forefront of and targeting get repeated because the brand or Its new approach centers on developing ways to Normally, a brand conducts segmentation by grouping retailer hasn’t tied back to the fact that what they’ve communicate with real people versus activating consumer insights people in a one-dimensional demographic index (for sent their customers before hasn’t worked and is not against vague consumer targets. example, by region or household income level), while a relevant. They’re not doing anything significant to “We’re having a deeper conversation on how we As marketers work to refine their methods, they must retailer may construct its segments around a particular learn how to change the approach or close the loop help and execute marketing that identifies, reaches also confront certain organizational challenges. One shopping behavior (such as people who only buy a on a purchase.” and messages to a specific customer or customer seg- imperative is to forge greater collaboration between certain category on sale). Despite the widespread availability of data from ment,” says Peter Cloutier, Chief Marketing Officer consumer insights and shopper insights groups. Most Catapult’s new approach goes much further. It a variety of independent sources, Smestad says that at Catapult. “We do this in service of building a brand marketing departments tend to view these as entirely combines more detailed demographic and lifestyle very few marketers have taken the necessary steps to connection and get someone to do something – click, separate functions, often placing far greater emphasis information with transactional data to create multi- access complete information about their customers’ share, download, post and ultimately buy. This is the on the former than on the latter.