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Great marketing today starts with the customer. The brand-centric approach of yesterday is quickly being replaced by customer-driven everything, where customers are dictating the style, quantity and mediums that marketers must use to reach them and win their business and loyalty.
The role of today’s marketer is evolving rapidly along with this people-centric revolution. Marketers are searching for the platforms and services they need to transform their business into one that activates around the customer and empowers people to be responsive to customer needs.
Microsoft embarked upon a three-year study of more than 6000 consumers across five geographies and discovered that there are five key stages of the consumer decision journey:
- Open to Possibility – The stage when the consumer is aware of product alternatives on the market and is willing to consider the need to purchase or replenish
- Decision to buy or change – The stage when the consumer gets the trigger from an advertisement, a product age/defect, or the influence of a stakeholder/family member/friend to go ahead and make a change. Here they begin to research new product(s).
- Evaluating – This is the maximum enjoyment stage when the consumer is using their worldview to evaluate products based on features and research and will hone in on their brand and product set choices.
- Shopping – This is the final in-store browsing and price checking stage where consumers validate their decision and make a purchase. They can be influenced by deals and in-store promotions in this phase.
- Experiencing – This is the stage where the consumers uses the product and may experience happiness or friction with it over time. They will seek validation from others that they made the right choice.
Reaching out across every stage requires today’s marketer to not only be committed to a people-centric approach but also empowered with the right technology to understand the customers’ needs and respond to them along each stage of this journey.
First, today’s people-centric marketers realize that every customer is unique and they need the data and insights to determine the best approaches to connect with them personally and understand their distinctive needs and desires. By actively collecting and analyzing customer behavior data, along every step of the journey, marketers can unlock key insights and respond to customers with a personalized approach that brings their unique needs into focus.
Today’s rapid pace of innovation requires marketers to not only unlock insights but to also take action on them. To stay competitive marketers are building responsive teams that can react rapidly to information and customer requests. Marketers are increasingly turning to cloud-based productivity services to help them collaborate on key initiatives and streamline their marketing programs.
As marketing undergoes a digital transformation, marketers are innovating with new digital marketing technology platforms and formats that enable companies to scale to meet customers changing needs and connect with customers in new ways. Information is moving to the cloud to help marketers quickly access and take action on key customer initiatives and create campaigns that make an impact. Connecting with customers at the right time on the right devices is critical to winning customer’s attention in today’s increasingly mobile world.
Finally, across every aspect of the marketing value chain, one thing remains a priority: delivering innovative customer experiences. The customer experience is now at the center of the business strategy and marketers are responsible for infusing a customer-centric culture into their organization. To do this, marketers are connecting with customers along every step of the customer journey, collecting and responding to information to deliver unique and personal campaigns that resonate with and turn them into loyal brand advocates.
