Sixty-four per cent of marketing executives “strongly agree” that data-driven marketing is crucial to success in a hypercompetitive global economy. Data-driven marketing has become an integral component of almost all advertising and marketing campaigns. It centres on driving value for the brand by engaging customers more effectively to promote loyalty and retention. As customers become more digitally savvy, brands need to track their activity through each touch point of the consumer journey to drive engagement and loyalty.

As social media has narrowed the gap between the customer and brands promoting a more personalised level of service, customer expectations have evolved to expect tailored engagement. Customers are more demanding than ever and brands need to avoid targeting them blindly. They need to be strategic in their use of marketing by engaging personally with shoppers across all channels to enhance the shopping experience as a whole. By harnessing the power of the data, brands are enriching the customer experience and in return, brands will be gifted with customer loyalty and appreciation.

Brands should view data as a valuable resource which has the potential to shape the design and execution of creative marketing strategies which are tailored to customers. The data helps brands to understand individuals to provide customer centric engagement which deepens the customer’s shopping experience. This is important, as it helps promote longer-lasting relationship between brands and customers, giving brands a competitive edge against competitors.

Customer engagement strategies should be informed by insights that are carved out of the data streaming in from multiple channels. The data Contactlab have collected over the years has helped us to identify personalisation as a powerful business tool to deepen customer relationships.

Consumers buying luxury goods both online and in store spend around 50% more per year than customers shopping only in-store. Brands are being encouraged to endorse a strong omni-channel approach to customer engagement. According to our latest research The Online Purchase Experience Ranking: from Milan to New York City, customers expect the whole shopping experience to have that luxury feeling. However, the general sentiment from Contactlab researchers is that brands are only utilising best practice during the consumer journey less than 50% of the time. For cross-channel-optimisation, brands need to ensure there is not a disconnect between each channel, but allow the customer to switch between all channels in a seamless manner. This presents a range of opportunities for marketers, as they will be able to leverage data to inform marketing decisions, basing them on an individual’s browsing and shopping habits.

Brands now have the tools at their disposal, which allow them to leverage the data being collected. Market segmentations, customer spending and browsing habits allow them to direct content in a more targeted manner. These resources become a vital element for both evaluating the influence of campaigns, and supporting brands to strengthen relationships and drive brand loyalty.

 

By Massimo Fubini, CEO at Contactlab

 

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