Data-driven marketing has changed the consumer journey for customers even more so than it has for brands, opening up new possibilities for every purchase.
We often talk about how data has changed the process of marketing to consumers, but what is the consensus from the other side of the coin? In other words, how has the act of gathering data and using it for informed decision-making affected consumers?
It has affected them quite a bit, as you might imagine. Just as much as consumer behaviors such as online price comparisons have affected selling, the counter-responses of brands have affected the way buying occurs. Now, thanks to data, shoppers experience the buying journey quite differently from a few years ago, and they benefit from the changes in more ways than they realize.
The Journey Transforms
One of the most remarkable effects of the data-driven marketing revolution lies in the complete transformation of the customer journey itself. This type of managed journey can become as much of a selling point as the product itself. Few brands manage to pull off such a positive end-to-end experience, but those that carefully measure the actions of both eventual customers and lost leads learn what makes people “stick” to certain brands.
Apple, which has a loyal following, provides an extremely positive example for its ability to translate digital marketing principles into the real-life floorboards and plate glass windows of its stores. By designing retail space around experience, customers feel “stuck” to the Apple brand with fanatic loyalty. The result is that Apple stores churn out the highest sales per square foot of any retailer.
Constant Curation is Key
Marketers have been repurposing data insights to create personalized buyer journeys through bespoke ad pitches that feel more like helpful suggestions than irritating advertising.
Under Armour has adopted this approach by fusing its Connected Fitness platform with a new UA Shop app. The app utilizes data from customers’ customized fitness information along with their buying history and favorite inspirational athletes in order to deliver practical suggestions. Each suggestion aims to fit their exact fitness needs with their preferred style and local climate.
From the point-of-view of users, the path to discovery of new items becomes never-ending, allowing them to always have a shopping list in mind for new workout gear.
Metrics Lead to Engaged Consumers
Social signals have turned into an incredibly important marketing metric in a social media-driven age. Potato chip company Lay’s has found a lot of success with its buzz-worthy approach to lifting sales. The company’s annual #DoUsAFlavor campaign provokes a lot of different conversations by virtue of creating new, unexpected flavors that get people curious enough to go buy them. Frito-Lay CMO Ram Krishnan used data to deliberately seek out this kind of reaction by considering the types of people that share and discuss products the most.
Surprisingly, Krishnan discovered that a certain group of “omnicultural” cohorts shared homogeneous interests regardless of their native country. By engaging with these segments through the theme of exploring and trying new regional flavors, Krishnan essentially fostered a comeback culture around potato chips, one of America’s most popular snacks.
From the consumer’s perspective, creative efforts such as the ones displayed by Lay’s have only made their options open more than ever. Consumers not only get more information on goods through digital channels, but personalization and social conversations also provide them with ideas for goods that they may never have discovered on their own.
As companies step up their data-driven marketing efforts, these infinite possibilities are only going to get more diverse and expansive over time.