We’ve all been there – one minute you’re happily browsing hiking boots for your weekend camping trip, the next – every website you go on is now equipped with a sidebar of hiking boots, tents and gilets.
Useful? Yes. A bit creepy? Maybe.
There’s no doubt that acquiring data is an incredibly useful tool for both marketers and the customer.
Cheetah Digital, a cross-channel relationship management solution provider, found that 31 per cent of consumers were frustrated when they received messaging that didn’t recognise their shopping history – people like a tailored experience and customer data tracking facilitates that.
But no one likes to feel stalked. Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018 consumers are increasingly standing up for themselves, advocating for their privacy and demanding more control on how their data is used.
So how can marketers continue to use data to provide a tailored and valued experience, whilst also respecting their customers’ privacy and consent?
The answer is simple: by building a relationship with them.
In its Relationship Marketing ebook, Cheetah Digital looks at how brands can better engage with their customers.
One of the first steps it unpacks is how to build a relationship by asking questions.
Think of it like this – if your date asks you what your favourite food is then surprises you with a trip to a restaurant of that cuisine, it’s sweet and thoughtful. If your date goes through your bins and follows you to find out what your favourite food is, it’s grounds for a restraining order.
In the ebook, we learn how Air New Zealand asked its customers ‘what food makes you say yay?’ whilst showing them pictures of different food. It was simple – but the results were big: 100 000 zero-party data records were collected and $5.6 million in sales were tracked to the campaign.
It goes to show how with consent around data being key, one of the ways brands can encourage customers to share information is by creating a value exchange. This means offering a clear benefit to the customer – such as offers, rewards or more tailored experience – in exchange for information.
Not only does this create a healthier relationship, but it also gives insight into behaviours, budgets, and other psychographic data that can’t be inferred from cookies or digital behaviour.
As Cheetah Digital says:
“While buying data and spying on online behaviour may get you a bucket of addresses, the real quality of those addresses and likelihood of long-lasting value is questionable. Time and resources are better spent acquiring reliable information directly from the consumers”.
Once you have established that initial relationship, you can continuously add to it by collecting additional information aka the next step: Data Enrichment.
As the ebook details, Data Enrichment is an ongoing and ever-evolving process with ‘rich’ results.
We discover how American Airlines sets a great example. The airline asked customers how, when, and where they planned to fly, then delivered personalised content and offers to match their answers. In response, they saw an 84 per cent experience conversion rate and a 50 per cent higher open rate.
This data can then be mapped in your database, your CRM or CDP, to create a record on each and every person who engages with your brand.
Whilst grabbing attention is key to starting a relationship, trust and consistency are key to maintaining it; one of the final takeaways from the ebook.
A huge 80 per cent of consumers have a favourite brand because that brand provides a consistent customer experience and 57 per cent of consumers are prepared to pay more to purchase from a trusted brand.
Cross-Channel Marketing is one way to build this trust and consistency. Marketers can build automations to welcome new customers, nurture them, recognise their life events, reward them for their loyalty, and even win back customers who might have lost interest.
It’s been shown that returning customers spend more – so become that trusted brand.
To find out more about how relationship marketing can benefit your brand and the best way to execute a relationship marketing focused strategy, download Cheetah Digital’s Relationship Marketing ebook today.
