Published by The American Marketing Association
Written by Bryce Marshall
The marketing landscape is shifting. Technology is rapidly changing, as is the way consumers receive and consume content, and marketers are taking note. As they continue to navigate the challenging waters in 2011, marketers will necessarily need to focus on changing consumer behavior, privacy and personalization, and database marketing.
Consumers Sit at the Head of the Table
Today’s consumer is constantly connected and has an array of ways to communicate at their fingertips. Don’t overlook the fact that consumers are at the head of the table. Consumers have the greatest influence over how a brand is perceived, how its goods and services are evaluated, when and how purchases are made, and providing the final (and very public) opinion of the overall brand experience.
Consumer behavior and attitudes change quickly (as evidenced by consumers’ fascination with mobile). The fascination and promise of being connected 24/7 at any time and in any place is driving nearly ubiquitous adoption of mobile technologies among consumers worldwide, propelling a transformation in how people communicate and take in information.
The socialization of the Web is another transformation. There have been no two greater sources of influence in consumer behavior since adoption of the Internet than the mobile and social channels, and both are happening simultaneously. The voice of the marketer now represents just a share of the information – correct or incorrect – readily at hand for consideration by the consumer. This creates a new context of real and immediate accountability on marketers. They must be vigilant about being accurate, consistent, relevant, credible, timely and responsive
Despite the myriad of technology advances and connectivity options consumers have available, they still expect marketers to respect permission and privacy. It is a challenging time to be an effective and ethical marketer. Because of the resources consumers easily have at hand in the connected age, the intrinsic measurability of digital media places the burden on marketers to demonstrate their effectiveness conclusively. Said digital media providers are devising increasingly sophisticated capabilities for tracking a connected consumers’ every move, yet consumers and legislators rightfully expect to be marketed to only with permission, and with personal privacy ensured.
Privacy and that Dirty Word “Behavior
In response to consumer discomfort with online behavioral tracking (whether the discomfort is warranted or misdirected), the FTC is taking a close look at how display advertisers identify, track, and compile activity data around web users. They’re even considering implementing regulations that would force marketers to not target or track Web users who opt out of receiving targeted online content.
Consumer opinions are tough to change, even more so when it comes to privacy. As long as Web users distrust marketers and the compilation and use of online behavioral data, the government will be involved.
The responsibility lies with marketers to explore new and improved methods for creating more relevant targeting while respecting permission, preference, and privacy. These are already the marketer-accepted tenets of effective permission-based direct digital marketing. With the emerging tracking and targeting capabilities of display advertising, marketers must assume a similar ethical framework. What marketers will also find is that, in the age of the social web, respecting consumer permission, preference and privacy is an effective marketing strategy, not simply an honorable ethos.
Database Marketing in Demand
There was a lot of talk during the course of 2010 about the science, discipline (and results) of database marketing – how its methods are emerging from the shadows and taking a seat at the head of the boardroom table. Because consumers are constantly connected, actionable data about consumers and their interactions with brands is everywhere.
The data will inform a smarter, more effective practice of addressable, highly optimized marketing communications. The database marketers owned the traditional “direct” channels, including direct mail and email. Now their data-driven approach can be applied to increasingly connected media, including television and video, website content, social media, and online display advertising. The emergence of connected media and the multi-channel marketing database is going to put database marketers at the helm of the overall brand marketing initiative.
The Rebirth of Email
With the rapid increase in consumer mobile adoption and the constantly changing technology landscape, comes the proclamation from marketers that “email is dead” or “email is dying.” In fact, recent studies have revealed that promotional emails were the primary driver of traffic to websites of the top 40 online retailers, exceeding SEM and social media.
The only thing more cliché than proclaiming “email is dead” is the rebuttal “email is not dead.
So for the record: email is not and never was dead, nor is it at death’s door. Not even close. Email continues to be an incredibly effective channel for migrating massive audiences to online destinations. Not only that, marketers and consumers know it, trust it, and bank on it.
But consider also that an email address is perhaps the second most important form of personal identification to generations of Americans behind only their Social Security number. As long as the email address is the standard for unique identification within the connected world, email marketing will thrive.
The inbox and what it means to consumers (as well as how consumers interact with it) is changing quickly and dramatically. Take for example how Facebook and Twitter influence the ways individuals communicate, and how mobile devices have changed how and when we view emails. It’s important to note that the concepts of permission and addressability take on even more importance as consumers create, grow, and manage an increasingly complex ecosystem of online and social networks. Email marketing sees a rebirth as not just a one-dimensional tool for driving e-commerce or website traffic, but as the best option for managing the flow of impressions and engagement across a brand’s various online assets – from Web, to social, to mobile, and more.
Bryce Marshall is the Director of Strategic Services for Knotice. Bryce works with new and existing clients to define strategies and plans for more powerful and profitable application of direct digital marketing programs. Contact Bryce at (bmarshall@knotice.com). For more information, visit Knotice's blog at lunchpail.knotice.com.