You can use data, data and more data if you are serving people. Are you aware that every single click you make, everywhere you go is now recorded in a database? And more than that, there is software that allows the marketer to watch while you are shopping, watch you while you rage click on a button. You can get a report that tells you that 28% of the visitors pressed on this button first, we are watching everything. The direct marketer is busy moving tiny little pieces around to try to get a 3% boost, but the intuitive marketer can see how people are interacting and discover what they are seeking. We are stuck in the same circle to see which parts work and which parts don’t.
The purpose of marketing is this generous act of helping people figure out their problems and solving them. The only way to this is to keep doing it and the internet has made it cheaper, faster and easier to do than ever before. The big takeaway is just do it, get the feedback from those people - see how they behave, see how they buy, whether they buy it or whether they don’t. Listen to what they tell you, listen to the questions they ask and the objections they may have, learn from that and do it better the next time and never stop. We don’t have the power to do things to people against their will, contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting about your organisations use of data.
Throwback Thursday
I think that it’s important to look back in order to understand the present. Alvin Toffler’s prophetic 1970 book, “Future Shock” predicted how people and institutions of the late 20th century would contend with the immense strains and soaring opportunities of accelerating change. In the book Toffler highlights that you can't run the society on data and computers alone. I agree and think that society needs all kinds of skills which are not just cognitive, we also need skills that are emotional and affectionate.
Toffler’s predictions about the consequences to culture, the family, government and the economy were remarkably accurate. He foresaw the development of cloning, the popularity and influence of personal computers and the invention of the internet and cable television.
““You have got to think about big things while you are doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” - Alvin Toffler”
Do Loyal Customers Still Exist?
Everything we know about shopping – how, where, when and even why we shop is changing radically. I believe that there is still something physical about retail, as we still want to be social and have interactions with other human-beings in a fun and entertaining way. For today's retailer connecting with consumers' through every channel is essential if they are to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. According to Frost & Sullivan, OMNI-CHANNEL is defined as a "seamless and effortless, high-quality customer experiences that occur within and between contact channels". For example, physical stores, smart mobiles, websites, gaming consoles, computers, kiosks, social media (SoMe), online catalogues, etc.
In the past, the consumer saw an advert and if the advertising agency made a good job of telling the brand story, the advert would create product interest and drive consumers along a very linear path which led to purchasing. And if it was a good advert, the consumer would repeat the process and continue to buy in the traditional way - "get me excited about your product, which is available at these fine retailers!" Nowadays you hear about a brand from everywhere (see image) and if you are curious, this will usually lead you to the brands SoMe, app, website or store. Maybe you buy from the brand or one of their affiliate sellers, maybe not, media is no longer the vehicle to push me to a store, it is rapidly becoming the store!
The internet has collaborated our expectations of every purchasing decision that we make. How many of you would book a hotel room without looking at the number of stars or reading reviews? In my opinion, experiences will ultimately be the only differentiator that one retailer has over another in the long term. The days of "stack it high and watch it fly" mentality is over! There are some big questions that brands are going to have to ask, e.g. "What can we use in the way of new technology to gauge the level of engagement the consumer has whilst in-store? How can we create the perfect blend between content and commerce by channel? How to collect, leverage and apply omnichannel data across the various touch points?" It's not just about data, as I'm sure most brands have loads of data – it's about what you do with the data and how you use it.
The aim will always to engage the consumer, but also to drive your business with increased revenue. The big challenge is to find the balance to give your consumer content when they want it, where they want it and how they want it.
