Modern marketing is a complex and diverse ecosystem, and technology alone is no longer enough to address that complexity. Instead, you need a multi-pronged approach. Technology provides the thread that stitches together this diverse ecosystem, data provides the science to know who to engage with, and storytelling is used to deliver an experience that will inspire behavioral change.
Driving all of these marketing efforts, and influencing all consumer behavior is the unmet needs of the individual. Today’s marketers have all the tools they need to weave together technology, data, and storytelling to predict these needs.
The Consumer Is Always “On”
Consumers aren’t just tech-savvy these days, they’re tech dependent. That means more work for brands to engage, inspire, acquire, and ultimately retain that consumer. People know what they want, and they have the patience and skillsets to use various technologies to get it. Don’t make the mistake of becoming tech-obsessed though, and neglect the importance of data and storytelling.
Meeting the Needs of Your Target Market
To effectively and consistently meet the needs of your target audience, you need to be always listening, understanding, and predicting consumer behavior. These three principles make up predictive marketing. A good brand will give the company what the consumer wants. A great brand will give consumers what they want, before they even know they want it. Data can provide these insights and virtually all companies have the ability to collect it. The secret is to analyze and apply the data to really understand, and ultimately shape, consumer behavior.
Separation Between Online and Offline No Longer Exists
Unless you’re marketing to the Amish, the line between the offline and online worlds has become blurred to the point of questionable existence. With more and more consumers constantly plugged in, brands need to be ready to anticipate decisions that can occur at any moment. This has led to consumers caring less about the product, and more about the general experience offered throughout the marketing process (largely conveyed through storytelling). If your story resonates with the consumer on a personal level, and you have the tech and data to connect everything together, you win the loyalty of those consumers.
To hear more about predictive marketing and the importance of understanding consumer behavior from a variety of angles, check out the latest Renegade Thinkers Unite podcast below. Drew Neisser talks about modern marketing techniques with Spotify’s Global Vice President for Growth & Marketing, Mayur Gupta.
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