In the expanding world of digital technology, analyzing user data is becoming increasingly difficult for marketers. Communications are being personalized using the wrong parameters, and this is significantly reducing the lead conversion rate. In today’s digital world, they should capitalize on certain emotional, circumstantial and extraneous factors to capture the customer’s attention. Marketers should develop a personal connection with the customer and try to have a proper conversation with them rather than always trying to sell something. Social networks are our extended circles and we go there to communicate, marketers must keep this in mind while developing the brand strategy.
What marketers are doing wrong?
The problem with many marketers is that they don’t differentiate between the offline marketing strategies and the online ones. Direct marketing is significantly different from what happens on the web. Some analytical information regarding the demographics comes in handy but emotional, influential and contextual attributes targets the customers in a much better way. Customers feel connected to relatable content and they will only respond to those marketing messages which are appealing to them.
According to statistics, only 2% online marketers are considered “extremely elite” regarding personalization. They create successful campaigns which are not only targeted but also very individualized. They have knowledge about the pulse of the audience and this helps them in producing relevant campaigns. Now let’s talk about the other 25% who are also quite good, they have figured out the need of market segmentation and that’s a plus. The content they create is dynamic and it addresses a specific situation. The target audience is identified and people are bound to interact with it as it’s not irrelevant to them. The content strategy is fixed in a way that it targets a particular community or a gender; this is a perfect example of effective communication.
They are way ahead of the other marketers as they are not sending mass messages blindly, personalization is the key here. But the industry is improving rapidly and companies are fine tuning their approach.
Dealing with connected customers
If we analyze the buying behavior of people, we will find that consumers have becomes less rational nowadays with the advent of digital technologies. In the pre-digital era, the decision making involved a lot of thought process and it was not impulsive.
While making a decision, lot of things go through our mind and this factors helps us choose a particular product. Some considerations are logical like thinking about the possible outcomes, how will we be benefitted, etc. But societal, emotional and other factors also influence us heavily. We tend to go with the flow and follow popular trends.
The digital platform increases the likelihood of choosing irrationally. It is a vast place and the user is bombarded with a stream off endless content. The decision-making becomes trickier and after a certain time, the user can get fatigued. There are so many things to choose from, clicking a website link, answering an email, responding to a SMS or opening a new page. These small choices utilize a substantial amount of energy and we are unable to make up our mind at the time of big decisions. Marketers should understood this scenario and offer the consumers less rational choices, so that the choosing becomes simplified. If rational choices are given, there will be no change in the outcome.
Decision-making is not an instantaneous process and every marketing move should slowly contribute towards influencing the customer’s buying behavior. Brands should study how people interact with each other in social media and this will serve as an important marketing cue. For example, most people use emoticons nowadays and it reflects their stress level. The job of a digital marketer is to keep track of these emotional responses and communicate accordingly.
Majority of people choose a brand, if it’s recommended by their friends or family. So it’s vital for a company to establish a proper brand image. If the consumers perceive a particular service or commodity as the go-to option, it will do wonders for the brand.
Conclusion
Digital Marketing has changed the way things are bought and sold. The major marketing tools now rely on technology and content is highly personalized. Relying on the wrong metrics will make the entire marketing process, a pointless exercise. Digital engagement happens on many levels and each platform offers growth opportunities. Creativity should collaborate with modern technology and this will pave the way for modern marketing.
