Today’s consumers prioritize personalization. Learn how to focus more on the person behind the data signal, creating connections based on emotion, not the bottom line.
We live in a data-driven marketplace, no matter the industry you’re in. Many of the interactions you have with customers are online, and data is now a part of every transaction.
At the same time, modern consumers increasingly care about personalization. An Accenture report showed that 91% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands who recognize, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations. Marketers are faced with what is becoming almost a universal truth: Personalization helps advance customer relationships.
When dealing with so much data, and with so much pressure to make things personal, how do you connect the two? It starts by recognizing the human behind the data point. Here’s how.
Why marketing campaigns must create emotional connections
Establishing emotional connections with consumers requires that you view the information you’re gathering as data about real people, with feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. These are actual humans clicking through your website or liking your social media posts, not just targets. Campaigns should thus be centered on building relationships with people, not just metrics and optimization.
When customers feel understood by brands, and when they begin to trust those brands, they’re more likely to provide their personal information. The same Accenture report mentioned above revealed that the majority of consumers (83%) are willing to share their data when it enables a more personalized experience.
So, focusing on the person behind the data signal is a win-win: Customers feel understood and satisfied, and you can collect even more information about them to help inform your decision making.
Customers also become more loyal to your brand when they trust you. These decisions are all based on emotions they want to be able to trust that your brand implements honest practices but also that they are viewed for what they are: unique individuals with unique needs and desires.
They don’t want to be simply lumped into a category. Your data-segmentation strategy should thus keep in mind that segments are composed of people with changing and differing goals and motivations.
How marketers connect to the person behind the data
Now you know why it’s important to make more meaningful connections. But how do you do it?
Target, seeking to become the go-to store for new parents, did it by making a deep dive into their data to identify expecting mothers as early as their second trimester. Netflix, already famous for their personalized recommendations, is now customizing the artwork displayed with each title based on what their data shows will appeal to the viewer.
It all comes down to the assumptions you make about the data you’re analyzing. For example, if your sales numbers changed drastically from one week to the next, and impacted one age range in your audience the most, what could be impacting that change that’s external to your brand message? Looking at the data this way means seeing the bigger picture, recognizing that there are many factors that drive a person to engage with a brand or make a purchase.
Another part of analyzing data effectively is finding patterns. But to do so while keeping the focus on the human behind the data requires that you’re acknowledging the thought process behind the patterns of behavior. Data is powerful in this way. In addition to gathering metrics and tracking effectiveness, marketers can use data to better understand the intent and motivation behind the action.
In doing so, they might uncover, and be able to address, questions their customers have about their products that aren’t answered by their marketing. Or, depending on the industry, they might find that an actual phone call is what’s needed to move a consumer toward a purchase. In today’s blizzard of emails and texts, hearing an actual voice can be a refreshing bit of human connection.
It’s too easy to see the data coming in and respond to it without considering the people behind those data signals. Only when you can keep your customers’ motivations, desires, and goals in mind can you really connect with them and provide what they’re looking for. This will also build trust and loyalty.
BDEX data solutions to build better human connections
At BDEX, we offer data solutions that better connect you to your target audience. We know how important it is to foster real human connection in your marketing strategy, and we can help get you there.
Our BDEX Data Exchange Platform (DXP) helps you make connections in your data across platforms, allowing you to better understand your customers. Our marketplace contains more than 6 billion unique IDs, over 5,500 categories of data, more than 800 million mobile ID-to-email matches, and over a trillion data signals.
Our Omnisource IQ solution gives you access to shoppers who are ready to buy, connecting you to the right people at the exact right moment. With the BDEX Identity Graph you can identify each customer behind the data signals, matching them to IDs in the platform.
BDEX helps you deliver your messages to the right customers at the right time with real-time targeting and the BDEX custom audience creator. To learn more about how our data can connect you with the humans behind the data signals, contact our team today.
