If you were unable to make our recent webinar, never fear – we’ve broken down some of the top takeaways to give you a taster. The entire webinar is also available to watch here, and we’d highly recommend tuning in, as our speakers provided incredible insights.
We were joined by guest speakers, Joe Stanhope, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester; Tom Galindo, CEO at Giving Assistant; and Michael Fisher, CEO of 3radical.
#1 Customer experience transcends products and services
Kicking off the webinar, Joe Stanhope discussed the evolution of the customer experience, from the introduction of the cookie to the cookie’s crumble. Joe also focused on changes the pandemic has brought to the consumer experience that is here to stay. In particular, the transfer of power to consumers when it comes to data. Joe also centered on how brands can harness the power of first-party data and where to start. Hint: Data Assessment.
“The overarching and ongoing trend at play here is the degree to which consumers are so incredibly connected and empowered.” Joe Stanhope | Forrester
Joe comments that “consumers are also showing a tremendous willingness to experiment and actually change the way they do business with brands.” Which we would agree is an enormous opportunity for brands in these times. Customers are now used to subscriptions, browsing content, video, not just visiting a website and purchasing. They are being trained or have been trained to expect more. The crux of it is that “experiences now transcend products.”
#2 Brands need to be ready to target at every touchpoint or moment
One of the key themes of our webinar was how consumers control the dialogue, and so they should, in our opinion. This means flipping the status quo and engaging with your consumer where they are, not where you are. There are hundreds of opportunities to interact with your consumer. Online and off. These touchpoints or moments spread across a lifetime.
To meet increasing consumer demand for personalization at every step, marketers must find new ways to capture and apply data more seamlessly. By understanding the difference in consumer ‘moments, ’ marketers can provide value to the consumer wherever they are.
“At Forrester, we would define a moment as the point when a person interacts with a brand to get what he or she wants immediately. And in context, what we’re practically talking about is taking that consumer buying cycle.” Joe Stanhope | Forrester
#3 There must be a clear value exchange
All three speakers agreed that there must be a clearly communicated value exchange between brands and consumers in order to build trust. If you already follow 3radical, you’ll know that Earned Data is our modus operandi. To earn data, you must establish a transparent and fair value exchange for the consumer all the time, not just at the end of the buying cycle or when trying to sell.
Tom Galindo, CEO at Giving Assistant, hammered this message home with a real-life example of how they earn data in the wild. Giving Assistant is a couponing site and web extension that enables users to gain cash back on online purchases and give to charitable organizations. Giving Assistant uses an earned data mechanic to ask consumers for information on the products or categories they are most interested in, which adds value to their partner brands.
By creating an experience that speeds up the time to sale and gathers data in a compliant way, Giving Assistant improves the experience for the consumer by offering exclusive deals (also known as ‘the value’).
“If you earn the right to ask for the data, that will allow you to succeed.” Michael Fisher | 3radical
#4 Experiential personalization is here to stay
Our CEO, Mike Fisher, introduced the value of experiential personalization. Whereby brands can access and apply data in real-time to personalize every customer experience.
Mike discussed how brands have an opportunity to shrink that digital shopping aisle but not necessarily in terms of a sale. “We also have to make sure that we’re delivering the brand experiences that the consumer demands, which might mean other things than selling today. So, for us, that means experiential personalization.”
Mike explains that marketers need to step away from price-based incentives and understand the broader experience. For example, if a consumer clicks on an offer, they need to be taken to that offer, not to another sale that the brand might be having that day.
Find out more about experiential personalization from Mike Fisher in our latest article.
#5 Personalization doesn’t have to be persistent to be effective
Marketers are collecting and applying first-party data in real-time. But it can be challenging to understand how this might play out in reality. Tom Galido explains that none of their data collection methods are persistent, but they are all 100% compliant.
“There is nothing persistent about any of the methods that we use. It’s just for this experience, and it doesn’t stick with the user. And that’s very, very deliberate, because, people are using ad blockers, and people are using private browsers. So, we wanted to make sure that we created this all in a single funnel that is not cookie-related and only exists within our ecosystem.” Tom Galido | Giving Assistant
Listen to Tom on the webinar here.
The challenges facing marketers are real, and they must meet these challenges with innovation and honesty. As a result, we can all agree that consumers will encounter far better buying experiences met on their terms. Listen to the full webinar to hear the trio talk about marketing in the age of walled gardens, how partner ecosystems may be a solution to more deeply understand your consumers, and how you can create a cleaner data signal.