Timing and Touch: Your Brand Needs Both
Savvy digital marketing has the ability to deliver with exceptional accuracy — the right message to the right people at the right time. But brands also need to look at ‘touch’ and how close they are getting to their customer.
Digital marketing has been a game changer. Reams of user data, AI propelled algorithms and highly tailored messaging have given brands a candy store of marketing indulgences. Add in GPS data layers, purchase behaviour patterning and Alexa with her own seat at the dinner table, you now pretty much have genie in a bottle. Well…almost.
Despite its efficiency and timeliness, digital has some flat sides. The phase-out of third-party cookies is one hurdle, but the other often gets overlooked. Digital marketing, for the most part, is very low-touch and transactional. While there are notable exceptions, the vast majority of customer journeys in the digital sphere lack meaningful and memorable depth of experience. While AR and VR, and maybe Zuck’s metaverse will add new dimensions of experience to the mix, the ability to see, feel, smell, taste a real thing will still not be there.
It is about now that critics would jump all over me and say that physical experience is not needed and consumers are buying products and services online now that at one time were considered unthinkable — everything from hiking boots to bikes and cars to mortgages. With online consumer experience only standing to get better, why would we ever need high-touch marketing again? Here’s why.
High-touch is work and it takes committed investment. It is the long-game of marketing. High touch is about being physically one-on-one with your customers as they try your product and share their genuine thoughts to your face. High-touch is about creating a moment of transformational impact that seals affinity to your brand. And high-touch is about creating a shared live experience that organically compounds and amplifies light years beyond the media buy.
Look at the cruise industry for example. When booking your first trip, you will likely explore all the different ships, routes and ports and book online. But the cruise industry knows there is a good chance the booking of your following trip will be a different experience. Deploying a highly crafted strategy, cruise lines design the pre-booking of your next cruise right into every cruise experience. The final night hoorah is the pinnacle point of opportunity. This strategy has proven highly successful and it wouldn’t be possible without the delivery of an exceptional experience. While the timing here is critical, so is the touch.
Taken to extreme, could you imagine that as you lick your fingers after a tasty Tim Horton’s crueller you are on your phone pre-ordering the same donut for everyday next week. No doubt a marketer’s dream and think about the algorithms you no longer need.
On the one hand, while high-touch is about seizing opportunities for maximum influence, it is also about listening, learning and talking to your customers. It is about building trust and this is most effectively done through a genuine emotional connection or experience.
So as you plan your marketing activity for the upcoming year, think about high-touch experiences and moments of influence at the same time you think about your digital marketing strategy. The two really do go hand-in-hand.
