Marketers need to rethink what data-driven marketing means – O’Connell
By Abimbola Mohammed
Joanna O’Connell, EVP of Innovation and a digital marketing strategist, has said that some marketers are confusing what it means to be consumer-obsessed with data-driven marketing. She noted that what some marketers are currently doing with target ads is scaring consumers away, driving them to adopt devices and mobile site that block ads to avoid being targeted at every turn.
The digital marketer noted that there are new sets of marketing rules that seek to balance the need to be customer-obsessed with the realities of data deprecation and consumer privacy. She explained how marketers can earn their way into people’s lives rather than forcing exposure and engagement.
O’Connell made this call at the Brave New World event organized to provide actionable insights across the most disruptive data, marketing and measurement challenges.
Her words: “I can’t stress enough how important it is that we need to think differently about what data-driven marketing and what customer-obsession means, because what we initially thought was consumer obsession was wrong, which means we have been doing it wrong. What we have managed to do is scary, creepy and horrible advertising and it’s turning consumers off.
“Targeted ads are not giving consumers great experience, but are rather scaring them away. We need to understand that we are at a moment in time that requires us to think differently, because we have moved squarely into an era of consumer privacy. There are lots of things happening right now that are converging that we need to pay attention to; things like consumers taking privacy protected actions for themselves, consumers using browsers that are designed for privacy, eliminating blocking cookies, mobile ad IDs that frankly all of us rely on everyday to do the things that we do.
“Lastly, the wall guarding phenomenon that makes publishers or big platforms like Facebook, Google recognize that not only do they need to protect their consumers’ data, that there are also business opportunities that are created by being more closed in terms of consumers and data that they have.”
She advised that marketers should adopt a process that allows them to warm their way into consumers’ hearts instead of the aggressive push that is scaring them away.
“Being customer-obsessed has to mean something different. For me, what I think is the solution is re-framing marketing as an ongoing process of thoughtfully earning your way into consumer’s life overtime. If you are doing prospecting you shouldn’t show up with somebody’s dossier of information on somebody, instead create a moment of respectful relevance rather than chasing people around. It’s about pulling consumers with engagement built on their terms; it’s also about getting it right all the time once you have earned the right to be in their lives.”
She noted that if advertisers don’t have a rethink now, it’s going to get worse and nobody wants worse but better marketing as consumers and as marketers. She stated six key processes to adopt as marketers to rebuild relationships with consumers or prospects.
“Things that we need to adopt as against the conventional ways of doing consumer segmentation marketing are: invest in deeper understanding of your consumers to demonstrate that you are listening; rethink your default setting around ‘addressability” and “personalization”; adopt messaging strategies that demonstrate a clear value exchange; access your partner ecosystem through lens of ethics, connectivity and sustainability; constantly assess and reassess where you can find win/wins, and invest in new skills and approaches as data continues to deprecate and fragment.”
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