Hello, It’s Me: Audience Management
Admittedly, rocker Todd Rundgren could be considered an unlikely muse for someone who writes about marketing. But his signature song “Hello, It’s Me” is clearly about a complicated relationship, and that is familiar territory for marketers, particularly with the recent emergence of audience management. Getting the right message to the right person in the right way in the right time (and doing it consistently), is a challenge worthy of song—and article.
“Hello, it’s me”
While audience management can be defined and approached in many different ways, here’s the overarching framework. If a company can:
- Recognize at some level the person with whom it is interacting;
- Know something descriptive or have information based on past customer interactions about that person;
- And accomplish that recognition and application of “persona” information in various media;
- Then the company can make its messaging that much more relevant for the recipient;
- And it can achieve some level of certainty that it is reaching the individuals and segments targeted for a particular message, offer or product.
“I’ve thought about us for a long, long time”
Tailoring a marketing message, in and of itself, is not new. However, the idea that the message can be tailored and synchronized to be timely, appropriate and consistent for an individual across multiple media channels is new, and the capabilities are still emerging. Let’s explore each of the components individually:
Recognize – Note that this does not mean any marketer needs to know an individual’s name or physical address. It simply means that marketers need to know enough to associate the person with available descriptive characteristics.
Know something descriptive or have past-interaction-derived information – Once someone is recognized, marketers can apply available information from third parties and/or pull information from its own customer database and/or derive information from current shopping behavior to provide a wealth of insight on what to do next.
Accomplish recognition and application of information in multiple media – The tools of recognition and applying information often vary from medium to medium. But the result should always be a coherent view of who someone is, regardless of that person’s channel of entry.
Message with certainty, relevance and consistency – How often have we, as marketers, accomplished recognition and great messaging in one channel, only to have another channel conveying a radically different message and offer for the same person? While we might tailor to fit a particular channel, the messaging should reflect a consistent view of who the individual is.
“Maybe I think too much, but something’s wrong”
An exciting, emerging dynamic in the process is the increasing willingness of consumers to share specific information about how often, by what channels, and about what topics they want to be contacted by companies. Of course, along with that willingness to share is the implicit assumption by consumers that marketers will respect these preferences and tailor messaging strategies accordingly. But how are we doing in that regard as a group? According to a recent Forrester report last year by Dave Fankland, not very well. Some highlights:
• “Forty-three percent of marketers fail to capture any of the customer preferences we asked about.”
• “Thirty percent of marketers who capture at least one type of preference data take no action based on that preference.”
• And the results, as described by consumers: “Only 14% of U.S. consumers agree that the ads they see are relevant to their wants and needs, and even fewer agree that the direct mail (10%) and email marketing (7%) that they receive is relevant.”
Then the report goes on to note: “Marketers spend billions each year tailoring their message and targeting the right recipients or segments, but even so-called precision marketing—direct mail and e-mail—misses the mark with consumers.”
Rewriting the Next Line
We marketers are expending a lot of dollars and effort on right messaging that doesn’t always work out, but here is where we part ways with the lyrics (with all due respect to Mr. Rundgren, of course). Yes, we clearly have a way to go before hitting the right notes with personalization. But as advances around recognition, application of information, and cross-channel relevance and consistency continue, we’re going to continue working toward customer relationships that last a long, long time.
When he’s not busy banging his drum, David Danziger works as senior manager of innovation at Acxiom Corp.
