Consumer journey mapping: the complete guide - GWI

The customer journey is a combined set of behaviors that customers display when they meet your brand, which grows ever more complex with increasing ... Guide Consumerjourneymapping:thecompleteguide Downloadnow ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn Whatispersonalizedmarketing? Accordingtorecent Epsilonresearch,80%ofconsumersaremorelikelytodobusinesswithacompanyifitoffersapersonalizedexperience. Thisshowsthatcustomersnotonlyexpectpersonalization,theyvalueit. Buttakingamoretailoredapproachisn’tjustaboutgivingconsumersmoreofwhattheywant,it’saboutreactingtocomplexshiftsinconsumerbehaviors. Today’sconsumersexpectpersonalization,andbrandswhousedata-drivenmarketingcampaignstodeliverthisareseeingtheresults.   Whatdoweknowabouttoday’sconsumers?   Whatdoesthistellus? Thesefactstellusmorethanwethink.Asdigitalconsumersbecomemorefragmented,andever-morechallengingtoreach,they’realsotakingmorecontroloverthemarketingthey’reexposedto. Onlineconsumersarenowoptingforamulti-deviceapproachtopurchasing,whichinturnoffersanotherangletotheirdataandtheir purchasehistory,whichsitessuchas Amazon,alongwithvariousbrandsusetohelpdeterminefuturepurchases,connectingonlineand mobileapp usagetotraditionalmarketingandinsomecases, physicalstores. Using datacollection tounderstandanindividual’sbuyingbehaviorsandpreferencesisapowerfultoolinanybrand’sarmoury,enablingthemtotargetpeopleontherightchannels,viatherightdevice,attherighttime. Asconsumerexpectationschangealongsidebehaviors,businesseshaveahugeopportunitytousethewealthofinformationattheirfingertips. Usingthistotailortheirmarketingtotheiraudience,thismeansimprovingthe individual customer experience,increasingengagement,andultimately,drivingROI. Chapter1:Whypersonalizationmatters Demographicdatathatgroupspeopleaccordingtoage,gender,householdincome,locationandethnicitynolongerprovidesenoughintelligencetoconnectwithconsumers. Today,brandshaveaccesstodeepdatathatquantifiesanindividualconsumer’sattitudesandbehaviors,interestsandperceptions,allowingthemtogofarbeyonddemographics. Thesomewhatlazypigeonholingof‘millennials’isacaseinpoint.Asmarketingprofessor,MarkRitsontoldMarketingWeekUK,“Theminutemarketersstartthinkingallmillennialsarethesame,theyrejectthebehaviouralandattitudinalnuancesofahugelyheterogeneouspopulationandcollapsethemintoonebig,genericmess.” Whiletherearekeydifferencesthatseteachgenerationapart,therearealsosharedattitudesandintereststhatbindthem. Smartbrandswillusedeepinsightstoidentifytheiraudiences’sharedinterestsandattitudes,whilepinpointingthedifferencesthatmakethemunique. Demographicdatathatgroupspeopleaccordingtoage,gender,householdincome,locationandethnicitynolongerprovidesenoughintelligencetoconnectwithconsumers. WithAIand machinelearning formingakeypartofhowusersaretargetedthesedays,thishashelpedtoenableadeeperleveloftargeting. Entermicro-targeting. Micro-audiencescameonthesceneasameansofsegmentingsmallgroupsoflike-mindedindividualstotargetandinfluencetheirthoughtsoractions. Itreliesonunderstandingthetargetaudiencesowellthatmarketerswillalsohaveaverygoodideaastohowthesepeoplewillrespond. Fromfirst-partyinsightsintowhataconsumerhassearchedforonyoursitetothird-partyinsightsthatrevealbehaviorsandperceptions... Brandscannowdrilldowninasmuchdetailaspossibletoreachveryspecificaudiencesinamicroscopicway. Thisgivesthemthetoolstodelivercontentthattrulyresonates. Thiskindofin-depthtargetingisnothingnew,butreadyaccesstocomplex customer data ischanginghowit’sdone. Fromfirst-partyinsightsintowhataconsumerhassearchedforonyoursitetothird-partyinsightsthatrevealbehaviorsandperceptions... Brandscannowdrilldowninasmuchdetailaspossibletoreachveryspecificaudiencesinamicroscopicway. Thisgivesthemthetoolstodelivercontentthattrulyresonates. Gettingitright Inthe2012UnitedStatesPresidentialcampaign,micro-targetingtechniquesweresuccessfullyusedtoappealtovotersonapersonallevel. BarackObama’steamcarefullytargetedspecificgeographicvotingcommunitiesthatwereyetundecided,withcampaignmanagerscollectingdetailed,andtosomeextentquite personal information suchasvoteroccupation,politicalhistoryandhomeownershipstatus. Withthislevelofaudienceunderstandingonanindividualbasis,theycouldcommunicatewithvotersaboutthetopicsthatwereemotivetothem,inturninfluencingtheirdecisions. Obamawonthepopularvotebyarounda3%margin,andtheElectoralCollegevotebya30%margin.Thesenumbersshowhowpersonalizationcanhelpdrivetherightresults,bytappingintotherightinsights.   Chapter2:Knowingyouraudience   Understandingsegmentation Customersegmentationisaboutdividingyourcustomerbaseintogroupsofindividualsthatsharecertainpreferencesandcharacteristics.  Thiswasoncethestartingpointforeverybrandstrivingtobetterunderstandtheirtargetaudience,wherebyconsumersweresplitintodesignatedgroupsbasedondemographicdatatodrivemoretargetedcampaigns. Buttimeshavechanged. Withthehelpofglobal datacollection andplatformsthattrackconsumerbehaviorsandmotivationsonamassivescale,it’snowpossibletocreatecustomaudienceswithinseconds,andbuildaccurateaudienceprofiles. Thesegofarbeyonddemographics,encompassinglifestyles,attitudes,self-perceptionsandinterests. Thestepsthatmatter   1.Stopsegmenting,startprofiling Audienceprofilingisnowthemosteffectivewaytodefine,segmentandtargetconsumersinthemorepersonalized digitalmarketing space. Withinsightsthatquantifynotonlythewhat,butthewhybehindconsumerbehaviors,it’seasierthanevertodelivertherightmessage,totherightaudience,intherightway. Thiskindofprofiling-analyzinginterests,attitudes,behaviorsandperceptions-iswhatmakespersonalizationpossible. ThisensurescampaignsarehighlytargetedandbrandsarewellpositionedtomakethemostoftheirROI,informing marketingstrategy fromendtoend. 2.Creatingreal-lifepersonas Buyerpersonasarefictitiousrepresentationsofyourconsumers,createdusingin-depthinsightsintoyourtargetaudience. Theseareusedbymarketersineverysectorandcantakevariousforms,helpingtoputafaceandapersonalitybehindtheconsumerstheywanttotarget,paintingamoreaccuratepictureoftheirlives,needsandwants. Real-lifepersonasaddtheemotionalandbehavioralcomponent,helpingbrandstodetermineanendgoalforeachtargetconsumer. Thisempowersmarketerswiththeknowledgetheyneedtogetinsidethemindsoftheirtargetaudienceandbuildtheradicalempathythat’sneededtomakerealconnections. Third-partydata isinvaluableforbuildingoutthesepersonasandbackingyourassumptionswithhardfacts. 3.Maptheconsumerjourney The customerjourney isacombinedsetofbehaviorsthatcustomersdisplaywhentheymeetyourbrand,whichgrowsevermorecomplexwithincreasingfragmentationacrossdevices,channelsandbehaviors. Customersand potentialcustomers interactwithbrandsinnumerousdifferentways,viamanydifferenttouchpoints,dependingontheirneeds. Ourlatestresearch,forexample,revealsthatoverhalfofdigitalconsumersarenowfollowingbrandson socialmedia,andsocialnetworksarenowthetopproductresearchchannelamongconsumersaged16-24. Thisshowshow socialmedia isnowplayingakeyroleinthedifferentstagesoftheconsumerjourney,buttherearefarmoretouchpointstobeidentifiedbyanalyzingthebuyingprocessofeachconsumergroup. Manybrandswillidentifyandmapseveraldifferentjourneystogetacompleteunderstandingofthetouchpointsthatmatter.Toidentifythesejourneys,deepinsightsareusedtopinpointthemoments,devicesandchannelsthatofferthemostpotentialtoputpersonalizationintopractice.   Understandingthislinkbetweendataandcommunicationsisthekeytobuildingconnectionsthatlast. AsMaheshKolar,DirectorofMobilityApplicationsatNTTDATAsays:“Webelievethat customerjourney mappingisvitalforgivingorganizationsthe‘Aha’momentwhenitcomestounderstandingtheirdigitalpossibilities.”   Statsroundup   3in4onlineadultsarepurchasingproductsonlineeachmonth. MobilesaresettoovertakePCs/laptopsasthetopcommercedevice. Onlineshoppersarenowoptingforamulti-deviceapproach totheirpurchasinghabits. Socialmedia representsanimportantforceateachstageofthepurchasejourney.   Chapter3:Workingwithdata Audienceprofiling   Thefirststepinachievingpersonalizationliesinunderstandingyourtargetaudience.Thismeansgoingfarbeyonddemographicstotakeanin-depthlookattheirinterests,attitudes,perceptionsandbehaviors.   Audienceprofilingisaboutgatheringtheinsightsneededtodothis. Thisiswhererobustconsumerdatathatquantifiesconsumerbehaviorsandperceptionscomeintoplay,guidingyourbrandeverystepofthewaytoensureyoustayasclosetoyourconsumersaspossible. WithtoolslikeGlobalWebIndexthateliminatetheneedforguesswork,a marketingstrategy canmeetconsumerdemandforaudience-centriccontentthat’stargeted,personalizedandresponsive. Thiscanbeappliedtoyourentire marketingstrategy fromendtoendinthefollowingways:     Personalizedmarketingprovesabrand’sdedicationtotheirconsumers.Itshowsthey’vegonetheextramiletogettoknowwhothispersonis.Intoday’smassmediaworld,thisisanessentialstepinmakingrealconnections." TomSmith,CEOandFounder,GlobalWebIndex   Turningdataintoinsight   Creatingpersonalizedmessagesthatresonatestartswithunderstandingtheperceptionsandbehaviorsyouwanttoshift.   Usingaudienceprofilingtoquantifytheperceptionsthatareblockingorpoweringrepeatpurchasinggivesyouthetoolstoknowwhattosay. Brandshaveaccesstoawealthofdata,butgivingthisdatatheleverageitneedstodrivemeaningfulcreativityliesinthecreationofinsight.Afterall,afact,afindingoradatapointwithoutcontextisworthless. Thepathtoidentifyinganactionableinsightthatwilldrivesalesliesinmatchingyourconsumerstoyourobjectives,andaskingtherightquestions. Here’showit’sdone.  Howtodoit 1.Quantifycurrentperceptionsofyourbrand.HowcanIsplitmyaudienceintotargetedgroupsthatalignwithmygoals?2.Validatetheperceptionchangesthatwilldriverevenue.Identifytheperceptionsthatwilldriveorblockrepeatpurchasing. 3.Createamessagethatwillchangeperceptions.Defineandtestamessagethatwillsuccessfullychangeperceptionsamongyourtargetaudience. 4.PackagethismessageintoengagingformatsTurnyourmessagingintoengagingcampaignsthatwillhaveimpact.  Toptip Havingtroubleuncoveringtheinsightsyouneed?Browseourwealthofready-madereports togetstraighttothestatsthatcount.Exploretheaudiences,marketsandtrendsthatmatterinminutedetailwithexpertanalysisthat’spre-madeandreadyforuse. Questionsyourdatashouldanswer   Toputmarketingthatworksintopractice,youneeddatathatwillanswertherightquestions. AmItargetingtherightaudience? Whatdefinesthisaudience? Whatmatterstothem? Whatmotivatesthem? Whatintereststhem? Whoandwhatdotheyfollow? Whereandwhencanwereachthem? Whataretheirperceptionsofourbrand? Whichperceptionsdriveorblockpurchasing? Howaretheyinteractingwithus? Whatdoestheirpurchasejourneylooklike? Whatarethetouchpointsthatmatter? Whattrendscanweidentifywiththeseconsumers?   Chapter4:Gettingpersonal Tacticsthatwork   Onceyouhaveaccesstothedatayouneedtocreateapenportraitofyouraudience,youcanstartputtingpersonalizationtothetest.Whilemanytacticsandtoolsareusedtomakethiswork,somestandoutabovetherest. 1.Contentmarketing   Contentmarketing isdefinedbythe ContentMarketing Institute(CMI)as‘astrategicmarketingapproachfocusedoncreatinganddistributingvaluable,relevant,andconsistentcontenttoattractandretainaclearlydefinedaudience—and,ultimately,todriveaction.’ Theinstitute’sresearchshowsthat contentmarketing hasbecomeanalmostuniversaltactic,with90%ofcompaniesusingitin2016,andevenmoreutilizingitin2017. Successful contentmarketing notonlycarefullyconsidersthetargetpersonasinquestion,itreliesonboth real-time analyticsand third-partydata tounderstandwhat,when,whereandhowwillresonatebest. Notonlythis,today’sconsumersexpect personalizedcontent.Surroundedbythelikesof Amazon’s productrecommendations forrelatedpurchases,Netflix’s‘whattowatchnext’,andSpotify’s‘DiscoverWeekly’service,thesebrandsaresettingthestandardwhenitcomestocontent. Consumersvaluecontentthatisuseful,relevantandentertainingtothem,sothemoretailoreditis,thebetteritwillperform.  Consumersvaluecontentthatisuseful,relevantandentertainingtothem,sothemoretailoreditis,thebetteritwillperform. ManybrandsareseeingastrongerROIthankstotheir personalizationefforts overall. Gettingitright   Onaverage,threemillionpeoplesignintousetheBBC’swebsitesandappspermonth. Inabidtogetmorepersonalized,thechannelintroducedrecommendationsforprogrammesandalertsaboutworldevents,hottopicsandsubjectsusersmaybeinterestedin. FromOctobertoDecember2016,peoplewhoweresignedinspentover20%moretimewatching,listeningandreadingcontentonthewebsitesandappseachweekthanthosewhowerenotsignedin. Thisshowshowtakingtailoredapproachwiththehelpofdatacanincreaseengagementanddrivebrandadvocacy.   2.Emailmarketing   Emailmarketing isn’tgoinganywhere.Infact,it’splayingamoreimportantrolethaneverindeliveringagainstmarketingandwiderbusinesstargetsthankstoamore personalized email marketing approach. Butthekindof emailmarketing thatworksfortoday’sconsumersisevolvingfast. ResearchbyTheDirectMarketingAssociation,showssegmentedandtargetedemailsgenerate58%ofallrevenue. Improvedsegmentationandtargetingenablesyoutohaveamorepersonalizedapproachand,inturn,driverevenueviaconversionandimproved openrates,whileincreasing customerloyalty overtime.   Gettingitright   Netflixisonebrandthathasbeenleadingthewayinpersonalization,usingtheirrecommendationenginestotailorcontenttotheirusers. Withtheirsuccessprovingtheappealoftargetedmessaging,theydecidedtoextendthislevelofcustommessagingto personalized email marketing communications. Harnessingtheirownconsumerdata,Netflixissuetailoredemailstotheirusers,recommendingmoviestothembasedontheirpastactivitiesandinterests. Byprovidingcustomrecommendationsofthiskind,thebrandensuresitsusersareactivelyseeingvaluefromtheirsubscription,whileprovingtheirunderstandingof-anddedicationto-theirconsumers. Thisnotonlycreates customerloyalty,butgivesitmoreofa one-to-onemarketing feel.   3.Retargeting   Formany,only2%ofwebtrafficconvertsonthefirstvisittoyourwebsite.Retargetingisatacticdesignedtohelpbrandsreachthat98%whodon’tconvertrightaway,andattract prospectivecustomers. Contentretargetingmeansservingcustomerswithcontentspecifictotheirneeds,interestsandjourneystage.Tacticscanincludecampaignmirroring,retainingpastsearchesandreengagingthroughblogs. Aligningyourcontentinapersonalizedwayallowsyoutostreamlinethecustomer’sexperienceofyourbrandthroughouttheironlinejourney,whetherthegoalistosignup,visit,downloadsomethingormakean ecommerce transaction. Butwhileretargetingcanproveeffectivewhendoneright,usingunreliabledata-solelytiedtocookiesasopposedtorealpeople-canhaveadetrimentalimpactonyourbrand.   Gettingitright   P&OCruisesAustraliawasinitiallyretargetingwebsitevisitorsbysimplydisplayingitslatestretailofferviaastandardizedbanner,butitwantedtogetmorepersonalizedwithits marketingefforts inordertoboostadperformance. Thecompanybeganusingdynamiccreativetechnology,whichretargetsconsumerswithmore relevantcontent basedontheirpreviousactionstakenonthecompany’swebsite. AsMadelineWong, DigitalMarketing Executive,toldCMO.comfromIDG,“Bysomeoneseeingadisplaybannerthatismorerelevanttothem,itincreasesthepropensityforthemtoclick. We’veseena60%increase,whichwethinkisfabulous.Forus,itisaboutincrementalincreasesontheboard,butsofarwehavesurpassedourinitialexpectations.”   Chapter5:Theauthenticfactor Keepingitreal   Thecontinuousriseofconsumerpowerandincreaseddemandfortransparencymeansbrandsareunderincreasingpressuretobeauthentic. Socialmediahasledthewayinforcingcompaniestobemoreupfront,tobereal,andtolistentotheircustomers. Thisshifthasforcedbrandstothinkagain,andattheheartofbeingauthenticisbeingabletodemonstratethatyouknowwhatyourcustomersthinkandfeel,andthatyoucananticipatetheirneeds. Bymatchingtheirbrandexperiencestoyourdata,youcanshowthatyoucareaboutwhattheywant.Thisnotonlyboostsloyalty,butoffersahuman-orauthentic-facetothebrandexperience. AsAshleyDeibert,VicePresidentofMarketingatiQMediasays:“Thosethathaveembracedauthenticityandtransparency(Dove,Airbnb)findconsumerswilldothemarketingforthem. Thosethathavefoughtit(Uber,Pepsi)continuetostruggletoregainfootingwithanaudiencewhowillwatchtheireverymove,waitingtopouncewhenthefirstsignsofnegativityarise.” AsreportedinCreativeReview,peoplenolongerwanttobesoldto,theywanttofeelpartofabrand’sstory.Datathattapsintopeople’sperceptionsandbehaviorsmakesthispossible. Forexample,somebrandstrypublicitystuntsandinfluencermarketingon socialmedia inanefforttoachievehugereach,butthosethatusedataandapplyinsightscancleverlycreatelaser-focusedcontentandmessages,tailoredtoatargetedgroupofpeople. Thisaudiencewillrespondmuchmorefavorablytocontenttheyseeasgenuine,valuableandon-brand.Thisinturncreates lifetimevalue withtheconsumer,astheybecomemoreloyalcustomersthatenjoyandinteractwiththebrand'scontent.  AsreportedinCreativeReview,peoplenolongerwanttobesoldto,theywanttofeelpartofabrand’sstory.Datathattapsintopeople’sperceptionsandbehaviors,thiscurrentformof marketingpersonalization iswhatmakesthispossible. Notsurewheretobegin?Startbyanalyzingyourtargetconsumers’interestsandonlinebehaviorsinGlobalWebIndex.Fromhere,youcanidentifythetactics,topicsandinfluencersthatwillhavethemostimpact. Toptip Notsurewheretobegin?Startbyanalyzingyourtargetconsumers’interestsandonlinebehaviorsinGlobalWebIndex.Fromhere,youcanidentifythetactics,topicsandinfluencersthatwillhavethemostimpact.   Gettingitright   Thosethathaveembracedauthenticityandtransparencyfindconsumerswilldothemarketingforthem.TakeDove,forexample. WhenitbeganitscampaignforRealBeautyin2004,itsmissionstatementwas:“beautyshouldbeasourceofconfidenceandnotanxiety.” Continuouslyaligningitsmarketingwiththiskeymessage,thebrandcouldshiftperceptionstopositionitselfasachampionforwomen’sempowerment,changingtheconversationaroundbeauty. TheDoveRealBeautySketchescampaignprovedthepowerofbeingauthenticbyfocusingonthebrand’scoremission,usingrealpeoplewhoweremorerelatabletotheirtargetaudience,andcreatinganemotionalconnectionwithitscoreconsumergroup. Itwasthemostviewedviraladcampaignof2013withnearly135millionviews. Thereasonauthenticityissoimportanttodayisbecausepeoplewillsimplynolongerbuyfrominauthenticbrands.Theartofspinisbecomingmoreandmoreredundant." SueUnerman,ChiefTransformationOfficer,MediaComUK  Personalizedmarketingchecklist Fivekeyconsiderationswhencreatingpersonalizedmarketingcampaigns. Knowwhoyou’retargetingbyinterrogatingcomplexdata. Useconsumerdatatobuildoutreal-lifepersonasofkeymembersofyourtargetaudience,andpersonalizeyourcommunicationsforeachgroup. Usedynamiccontenttopersonalizethecustomerexperiencebasedoncustomerinterestsorbrowsingbehaviors. Findoutwhatyouraudiencewantsonsocialmediabyusingdatatodiscoverwhenthey’relikelytobeonlineandwhatkindofcontenttheyengagewith. Bringallyourdatatogethertocreateasinglecustomerview,enablingyoutodeliveraconsistentlypersonalizedexperience,regardlessoftouchpoint. Conclusion Personalizedmarketingisonlyasgoodasthedataituses,yetmanybrandsarerelyingonunreliableorinaccuratedatatoachievethis,wastingbudgetandtarnishingthepractice. Togetitright,there’sapressingneedforamorecomprehensiveunderstandingofyourconsumers-fromhowtheyinteractwithyourbrandtothebiggerpictureconcerningtheirinterests,attitudes,perceptionsandbehaviors. Withthisknowledge,youcandelivertailoredmarketingthatresonateswiththeindividualsyou’retargeting,ultimatelyimpactingyourbottomline. Yournextsteps... Mostmarketersarealreadyusingaudienceprofilingtoolstogetmorepersonalized.Wehopethisguidehasgivenyousomeactionabletipsonwhattodonext. Startbygettingclosertoourgranulardataandplatform,andgettoknowyouraudiencebetter.