The Human Touch - the missing marketing ingredient
Connections were big in 2019 but if brands want a more connected future, their previous efforts were only just scratching the surface, engagement on a far deeper level is in demand.
- The term data-driven means nothing if it is not accompanied and supported by creativity.
- In an era where consumers are increasingly savvy, they have much higher expectations for their relationships with brands. Putting a consumer’s name in the subject line of an email is no longer enough for personalisation, one sweeping message will not resonate with consumers and short, eight-second ads will not inspire, engage or excite an audience.
- Below we will discuss four key insights into the world of marketing to a more critical and demanding network of consumers.
“71% of consumers want B2C-like experiences.”
Emotion, Emotion and Emotion
For too long, emotions have been pigeonholed as a concern of B2C but what people fail to consider is that B2B buyers are also humans and will be similarly driven by emotion. They want to feel inspired, excited and moved. Harvard Professor, Gerald Zaltman states that,
“95% of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind.”
The age-old battle of data vs. creativity comes into play here. With the great technological advancements that are being made, the insights data can offer marketers to try and access the subconscious mind of consumers is increasing, but this will only go so far. The use of data requires the balance of creativity to translate it into effective marketing. Put simply, for these insights to be applied to marketing they need a creative and emotive touch and this is where the balance between data vs. creativity lies.
At the heart of this process, marketers must always be considering how emotion will be integrated as it is key in supporting the consumer’s decision-making process.
Real personalisation
As mentioned previously, while a consumer’s name in the subject line of an email might initially capture their attention, this is no longer enough to engage them.
“When only the subject line is personalised, emails have an average open rate of 7.4% and a click rate of less than 1%.”
Consumers desire an experience from start to finish that is relevant and offers them value, they are polluted with advertising and to stand out from the noise, superficial attempts like names in an email will not be enough to carry a brand image.
“80% of shoppers are more likely to buy from a company that offers personalised experiences.”
Marketers need to ensure that the content they present to consumers enables deep and personalised conversations otherwise their efforts will be wasted.
Creativity
Technology and the new windows of opportunity that it has unleashed for data insights are fuelling 2020 marketing innovations, but science alone is not enough for consumers to put all their eggs in one brand’s basket. It has been said time and time again, creativity needs to come into the mix.
Campaigns need to be assessed from top to bottom to achieve out-of-the-box thinking. There is a lot of pressure on marketers to offer their consumers an unparalleled experience, but only through marrying the creative and data insights, they will provide an engaging, inspirational and personalised campaign that their consumers deeply desire.
The Human Touch
Consumers have access to the majority of information they could want about a brand’s product or service through digital channels, word-of-mouth marketing and social media - they can complete their purchase journey almost completely independently. As a result, marketers have less opportunity to reach and influence their audience, so when that moment does arise, it needs to be approached on their level, with a human touch.
At CLICKON, human connections are at the very heart of our process. We tell epic, branded stories that focus on real humans so that our campaigns resonate, engage and inspire with our client’s consumers.
Nevertheless, our human touch is not left unsupported. We produce personalised content by ensuring that data and creativity are working together as we know this will produce more engaged and more effective campaigns. By making the most of our offering, our clients will see that we make sure their message is delivered to the right audience, at the right time.
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