Customers expect digital. During the pandemic marketeers in all industries were front-and-center, driving transformation and changing every step of the customer journey. And now that face-to-face is back, it’s all about taking personal learnings and data to continue the evolution of the path to purchase.
Balance is needed. It was the overriding theme I came away with at the recent eTail West Conference, where brands, retailers and digital marketeers meet to discuss current disruptions, tomorrow’s trends and future opportunities. These are my top three areas of inflection points:
Merge Digital with Physical
Over-reliance on a single channel for anything – engagement, experience, education or selling – doesn’t work. Interactions must move from bi-directional (physical to digital, digital to physical) to a continued circular flow of information and actions across all connection points. “Internal alignment and collaboration are critical to being truly customer focused, and it’s not about the website or the store – it’s about the customer,” stated Kevin Moffitt, EVP and Chief Retail Officer for The ODP Corporation. It’s a fact that customers who connect in multiple ways have a much greater lifetime value.
Focus on Outcomes vs Output
Skyrocketing digital customer acquisition costs have made retention the new acquisition. It’s time to change how the impact of marketing programs is measured. Invest in activities that fill the top of the funnel with more net-new customers without putting core business and long-term customer relationships at risk. At the same time, shore up the bottom of the funnel with compelling content, infrastructure and automation to create a conversational journey and drive conversion. Collect data and turn insights into action, measure results and course correct throughout the entire experience.
Infuse Humanity into Technology
Meaningful relationships and trust are the real drivers of long-term loyalty. Consumers respond best to purpose-led, emotional connections delivered in a personalized way, regardless of the type of interaction ie: email, ad, social, online, app, phone or face-to-face with associates. The combination of data, analysis and human insight allows marketeers to understand consumers’ motivations, so they can create stories, emotional connections and long-term loyalty. This is especially important in the eye care industry, where Pearle Vision has been successful in gaining a deeper understanding of patients to improve the connections, experience and satisfaction through its ‘small moments’ marketing and operations strategies.
Pandemic buying behavior shifts are here to stay. Meaningful engagement requires the right combination of insights, tools and teams, underpinned by infrastructure and fueled by data. Customers are people and they respond, and continue to engage over time, when the path to purchase personal, non-linear, multi-threaded and delivered through many different types of touchpoints.
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