The new "normal" continues to evolve as consumers react to the changing landscape caused by the pandemic. They're now embracing different behaviors as they redefine their new norm and rethink how, when, and why they connect with brands.
While digital marketing still serves an important role, one-and-done marketing to the masses just doesn't cut it in this new, ever-changing norm. When done consistently, omnichannel marketing (including smart, targeted direct mail) keeps the customer at the core — focusing on their needs and delivering relevant, timely, and personalized messaging.
When you use insightful data, engaging creative, and speed to your advantage, you realize growth.
1 - Move strategically with fresh, insightful data
- Are you using data to your marketing advantage?
- Are you getting the most from your data?
- Is your data delivering a positive impact?
By answering these data questions before deploying your omnichannel campaign, your campaign will be more effective.
According to Forbes, companies that use data-driven marketing are 6x more likely to be profitable year over year.
To reach your customers and coveted brand fans here, there, and everywhere they are, your data must be fresh, relevant, and timely to engage the right audience at the right time.
For example, use competitive intelligence to find active shoppers and engage them with timely, omnichannel communications and special offers from your brand.
Reach ideal prospects with tactics such as geo-targeting, purchasing triggers, demographics, and analytics with both proactive and reactive data strategies.
Proactive
- Find people looking for products and services like yours
- Find people when they're new to your market and looking for new brands and companies
- Reach and convert shoppers actively seeking your competitors’ products and services online
Reactive
- Boost your engagement with dormant customers to drive new growth
- Data mine for organic sales opportunities
- Predict and promote the products or services your customer is most likely to purchase next
2 - Act creatively with personalization
With data, you're more relevant because you know more about the audience and can deliver a message that’s important to each consumer. But, if the touchpoint isn't creatively engaging and personalized, your efforts could be wasted.
According to Forbes, "people receive between 300 and 3000 marketing messages a day, but can only retain a maximum of three." If you're not serving personalized content at the most relevant, receptive moment for that consumer, you're wasting resources and losing opportunities."
Salesforce adds, "52% of consumers (and 65% of B2B buyers) say they're likely to switch brands if a company doesn't personalize communications to them.” But, brands can only personalize effectively if they know who their customers are – their information, behaviors, and preferences."
When it comes to the creative, don't be afraid to step outside your brand's comfort zone with concepts that raise the bar and grab your customer's attention.
Enlist a team of strategists, writers, and designers to create relevant, personalized messaging and designs that compel the consumer to act.
Remember, people buy with emotions and justify with logic, so your creative must capture a feeling and offer value.
In addition, studies show that positive emotions toward a brand also have a far more significant influence on consumer loyalty than other judgements based on a brand's more rational attributes. The reality is emotions are the primary reason why many of us opt for brand-name products.
3 - Engage quickly from data mining to mailbox
When the right moment to reach your customers is NOW, it’s critical to get your omnichannel campaign off and driving ROI quickly. Enlist the expertise of a full-service marketing team that can go from data mining to mailbox to consumer's hands as fast as possible.
Most purchase journeys have a typical timeline, and gauging that timing is critical. Businesses report that launching campaigns quickly is vital to business success. Also, time is of the essence as customers' wants, needs, and behavior patterns are constantly changing, especially as they settle into and redefine their new norm.
Engaging quickly is also critical in your messaging. It must be relevant, value-driven (with an emotional and rational balance), and, most importantly, succinct. People spend a matter of seconds with any marketing piece before they decide if it's worth continuing to read.
The tendency is to ramble on with self-serving messaging that talks only about your brand. The key is to swizzle that quick-get content to speak to the "What's In It For Me (WIIFM)" benefits for the consumer — using "you" more than "we."
Unify strategy, creativity, and speed with purpose to grow your brand confidently
Today's consumers are interested in a brand's purpose as much as, or sometimes even more than, the products and services that the brand offers.
- What purpose does this brand serve in my life?
- Why is this brand reaching out to me, and why now?
- What purpose does this brand stand for beyond the products it sells?
Omnichannel marketing must also have a very focused purpose that strategically and consistently unifies data, speed, and creativity in every touchpoint. When one is missing or "off," a disconnect happens, and ROI can easily drop.
Unfortunately, according to recent studies, only 7% of companies are successfully unifying creativity, analytics, and purpose. However, those who integrate all three are delivering at least 2X the growth of peers who don't.
How do you find new brand fans in the new norm? The answer is perfectly clear.
Successful omnichannel marketing in the new norm requires a triple-action plan:
- Use fresh and insightful data
- Personalize your messaging in creative ways
- Use speed to your advantage
To learn more, start a conversation with the experts at Taylor. You and your new brand fans will be so glad you did.
