SPARKS
April 2021
This month we are going to focus on customer marketing! As physical storefronts continue to remain closed for a lot of businesses, we investigate what’s new for those brands who have embraced a digital pivot (yes, we just used that word we are all sick of hearing! #sorrynotsorry). How are they now able to communicate directly with their customers, and embrace the technology that is there to help?
Chatbots – Is it me you’re looking for?
With customers spending even more time at home and in front of multiple screens, they are expecting and anticipating that businesses are also present and accessible. The digital storefront may now be a website or Instagram Shop, and customers are seeking out excellent customer service when shopping online.
The chatbot functionality isn’t a new phenomenon, but we are seeing more websites utilising this application, with potential customers now feeling comfortable exchanging information and asking questions via this messaging service. An interesting stat to note is “Chatbots will become more prevalent in 2021, around 50% of businesses now plan to spend more on chatbots than mobile apps”.
Learn more about this Irish real-time messaging software, based in Cork – https://www.pubble.io/.
Google Analytics – Taking time to look at your customer data.
Do you remember that when you set up your website, you may have also installed Google Analytics, Search Console and/or Google My Business? We see you nodding (hopefully). But do you actually take the time to review this data? Your customer behaviour on your website is invaluable and can reveal important information about who your customers are, how they’re using your website (where are they lingering on your site, where they are dropping off), and how they’re finding you. Google? Social media? Email?
Put time aside each month to review this data to find out about your customers journey and emerging patterns. In the coming year, we will see more businesses focus on delivering a highly personalized experience to their customers — the right offer at the right time in a customer’s buying journey.
Programmatic Advertising – Competition Disrupted
Programmatic Advertising now allows for more in-depth customer and audience targeting. As we all know, customers can be targeted with digital ads according to their lifestyle, or online behaviour and habits, and programmatic allows you to really drill down on detailed audiences.
Programmatic will allow for your brand to be shown to potential customers across a wide range of digital channels such as display, mobile, video and social with real-time bidding allowing for ad auctions to take place in the same length of time a web page loads. Pretty impressive! You can define your audience with contextual targeting, keyword targeting or even geo-targeting! Here at Hopkins Communications, we work with clients on DSP (Demand-Side Platforms) as well as Google’s own inventory. “Programmatic advertising is also the method responsible for helping the world’s most successful brands get in market fast and disrupt their competition from every angle”.
Go Digital – or go dark!
With mandated lock-downs, it was inevitable that businesses would embrace the paradigm shift. However, some smaller businesses have yet to take the plunge.
To best understand what you can offer in the digital space, you first need to identify how your customers would consume digital content when it comes to your brand. Will they watch how to videos on YouTube? Will they subscribe to a pay-per-use? Are you now offering a service online which was once consumed more traditionally?
Your next step is to create or even refresh your online presence. This can be a landing page, a new social media profile (just ensure you have researched your target market and are on the correct platform!), or something else. “Now is the time to reassess digital initiatives—those that provide near-term help to employees, customers, and the broad set of stakeholders to which businesses are increasingly responsible and those that position you for a postcrisis world”.
That’s all from us this month, folks. March may have been short, but it managed to pack its fair share of news in! We’re looking forward to what April brings – hopefully better weather as well as more exciting marketing updates.
Need help with your digital strategy or have a specific topic you want us to cover?
If there’s anything in particular you want us to cover in our future Sparks Roundups, or if you need help planning and implementing your digital marketing campaigns, just pop judy@h-c.ie an email and we will be happy to get back to you.
For more on our digital offering, take a look at our Digital Marketing services or follow us wherever you get your social: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
