The past several years have brought about great changes in how we interact with technology, and for marketers, this has led to an evolution on how business is done. In our global world of 24/7 engagement, the reality is that only by embracing the strategic advantages of today’s leading technology solutions are digital marketers able to avoid brand minimization and bolster customer engagement.
Gone are the days of old school Madison Avenue advertising agencies when the technology of choice included the photo copy machine and the watershed campaigns that everyone was talking about revolved around the Pepsi generation, Smokey Bear and the Marlboro Man. As portrayed in the era of “Mad Men,” customer loyalty was won through seasonal promotions, coupons, and print advertisements – all generalized for a wide audience.
Today, digital marketers have a greater challenge moving the right prospects through the funnel (post the initial click) rather than simply getting them into the funnel. As such, they need to help brands build customer loyalty beyond just one experience and the first point of contact. Mobile and social are enablers to customer engagement, providing marketers with opportunities to create customized content, rewards and coupons – resulting in great customer service, happy customers and greater market share.
Yet, these marketers are often faced with too much data every day, but not enough of that data is accompanied by insights that they can act on in meaningful and timely (sometimes immediate) ways – especially without the assistance of engineering or data scientist intervention. Additionally, marketers are often asked for proof of results/understanding in a data obsessed world – even when that cross-channel data cannot be easily and quickly obtained, analyzed, understood, and presented.
Taking the data that was once overwhelming and making it manageable and more insightful is the key to using that data to talk to your customer in a “human” manner. This way, marketers can now ask and respond to “human” questions.
