Picture this: You’re striving to supercharge your business's engagement strategy and are reviewing a variety of business intelligence solutions that will help your company reach future customers. You have your eye on one solution in particular and are strongly considering making the purchase; you even opt into their newsletter.
Conceivably, all the business intelligence company would have to do to sell their product to you would be to reach out and make a credible impression... but they don’t. In fact, when you do finally receive an email from them, it’s promoting a product that you never interacted with and aren't interested in.
This is what happens when companies fail to personalize communications with their customers, leads or prospects and ignore their behavioral data. There is a tremendous opportunity for brands to stand out by nailing their communications with consumers in the digital landscape. In particular, brands can lean on behavioral data to develop positive consumer experiences and drive product engagement.
As the VP of marketing at a company that offers a growth marketing automation platform that leverages behavior data, I believe it’s important to understand and correctly use behavioral data to create impactful customer experiences across every digital channel. Of course, companies have to get it right by understanding the who, what, where and when of personalization in their marketing strategy:
The Who
If businesses aren’t asking themselves “Who is my audience?” then they’re doing it wrong. Gone are the days of treating all customers like they are the same — because they aren’t. In a connected digital era, I've found that customers expect brands to communicate with them personally and provide value throughout their buying journey. This is why it’s important that businesses know who their audience is on a deep level.
Who are they? What are their interests? What does their online behavior say about them? Are they a lead or an existing customer? What are their demographics? These are just examples of the many questions a company should be asking.
For example, if a business sends an email to a CMO and a CFO, it’s likely that the message will resonate differently because each person has unique business needs. When customers receive messages that are completely irrelevant to them, not only do they not receive value from the message, but they might also be less inclined to engage with the sender in the future. Brands that understand and appreciate the differences between their customers will be able to provide more tailored experiences that will only make their consumers like them more.