According to Red Crow, people are exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day. That's not counting TV, radio, print, and billboards—or the constant demands of work, family, and/or school. The people you’re trying to reach as an advertiser are overloaded, overstimulated, and overwhelmed.
Despite this reality—or perhaps because of it— there are things your brand can and should do to make sure you’re delivering resonant messages instead of simply adding to the noise.
(Great) Experience Required
Whether someone’s shopping online or in a store, there are certain deal breakers that could lose you business from the get-go. For example, rude employees make for an unpleasant in-store experience. In the digital realm, one thing that turns off shoppers more than anything else is a shoddy delivery timeframe or, worse, an undelivered shipment. Today’s consumers simply won’t tolerate such lapses in the modern, on-demand economy.
The best way to provide a great experience is to know what people want—now, tomorrow, and next month, whether it’s sustainable products, the right communication method, or other motivation encouraging a purchase—and to flawlessly execute on the delivery logistics.
What People Want
What do people want? Well, we’re all human. Of course, you should “always be testing” to find out what makes your particular audience tick. However, there are certain things that just about all of your potential customers prefer:
To be left aloneif it’s not relevant
Think obnoxious barfly versus subtle flirt. Again, people are dealing with more interruptions and distractions than ever before, so make sure potential touchpoints are meaningful, and be there when they're looking for a distraction. Using custom and lookalike audiences to target campaigns is one of the areas where a third party like Marin can really help increase the relevancy (and performance) of your campaigns.
To be understood
Do you have a good understanding of your audience and what they want, in particular, how their wants and needs change over time or by season, age, gender, etc.? Do you have a mechanism in place to alert you when trends change or new ones arise?
The right content
Are you sending a bunch of influencer videos when your buyer is looking for a discount? Make sure you’re posting the right things that meet people where they are on their customer journey. Tracking engagement and conversion rates—in particular monitoring your campaigns for spikes or drops—is a great way to ensure that your content is resonating.
Discounts and sales
On a related note, a recent study showed that 72% of consumers consider “Discounts or sales” as their top shopping priority. Contrast this with the 18% of marketers who provided this answer, and you’ll find a quick disconnect between marketing teams and the general public. Make this your mantra: Give the people what they want.
Privacy and trustworthiness
Data privacy is a top-of-mind issue, with Marin research placing it as the #1 challenge among global digital advertisers. As each week (and sometimes day) brings a new data breach or company handling personally identifiable information (PII) in a clumsy way, more and more people are concerned about how their data is being used and otherwise protected.
How are you addressing this growing consumer—and advertiser—apprehension around “Big Data”? Check out your ad management vendor’s privacy policy to ensure they’re on the right side of this argument at all times.
Connection
Are you relentlessly focused on the customer? Is there a human touch in your messaging? It’s in our nature to eventually circle back to “me,” so find ways to regularly assess your programs and make sure you’re connecting in a meaningful way with customers and prospects to maximize value.
Safety
Fraud, protecting kids online, and screening inappropriate content that displays alongside your ads are all important for advertisers. But, despite all these legitimate concerns, people will share their data if you make it worth their while. Advertising is essentially transactional—consumers will only share their data with you if you’re providing enough value and relevance to justify their trust. And, they expect you to uphold that trust as a top priority.
The Upshot
More than ever, consumers expect personalized, relevant experiences; trustworthy brands; and a secure shopping encounter. Every time you deliver on these requirements, you boost your brand credentials and increase the likelihood of gaining more customers.
To recap, make sure you’ve done your homework:
- Identify your target audience
- Learn what makes them tick
- Develop a data-driven advertising strategy—one that incorporates lessons learned and clearly establishes and messages according to your brand values
Once you’ve nailed these basics, it's time to execute on your strategy. And, although this (almost) goes without saying, always be sure to do periodic check-ins to make sure your programs are on the right track and delivering results. At the end of the day, ensuring a two-way relationship with your customers will lead to more credibility, more trust, and more sales.
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