Does experience trump everything?
This article is excerpted from Mobile: The Great Connector (Volume 2), a comprehensive eBook authored by Peggy Anne Salz, chief analyst and content strategist of MobileGroove, in collaboration with the MMA EMEA and member sponsors Inspired Mobile and Brainstorm. Register here to download your free copy of this essential marketing resource.)
When I set out to write Mobile: The Great Connector Vol2 — a knowledge resource for brands, businesses and organisations harness mobile and mobile data to create contextual relevance in their marketing, advertising and interactions with customers — this is one of the questions I set out to answer.
The ebook, a joint collaboration between myself and the MMA, Inspired Mobile and Brainstorm, provides brands and businesses with clear direction and actionable insights around how mobile is paving the way for new marketing approaches and blurring the boundaries to bridge the digital and physical worlds.
Drawing from insights from top marketing executives at leading brands including Unilever and Hotels.com, as well as examples of award-winning mobile campaigns, confirmed that
effective and engaging marketing is data-driven and laser-focused on delivering consumers what they appreciate: relevance and convenience.
No surprise there.
But recent research also suggests experience is what consumers, particularly Millennials, value most.
experience is what consumers, particularly Millennials, value most
In this scenario emotional marketing linked with personal preferences and passions and enabled by the delivery of amazing and moving experiences can transform customers into brand fans. Even better these satisfied customers will often use social media to provide positive word-of-mouth to others and broadcast praise of their favourite brands to everyone on the planet.
A recent survey from Atomik Research,for example, found that consumers in the U.K. were “more likely to have their brand interest piqued if they were served up content that centered on discounts.” Nearly half (49%) of respondents said such content would make them more interested in a brand.
Predictably, respondents in the 35+ age bracket said they were much more interested in discounts than anything else. However, Millennials — particularly those ages 18 to 24 — said they would be more interested in a brand that served them humorous, dramatic or heartwarming stories than they would in one that gave them discounts.
Loyalty program are also seeing that consumers value experiences more than money. A seminal Colloquy/FanXchange Customer Engagement Survey reveals that that, instead of points and discounts, most consumers (56%) would rather have experiential rewards in the form of live event tickets to concerts, sports or theater.
Meanwhile, an earlier survey of 1,016 adults in the U.S. and U.K. conducted by JWT Intelligence, reveals that a whopping 81% of Millennials value experiences over material items, and 72% would rather spend their money on an experience.
emotional brand connection is more important than mere cash savings.
Connect the dots, and it would appear that emotional brand connection is more important than mere cash savings.
Now stop a moment to think that through.
Whether consumers crave experience or demand convenience — or both — the pressure is on marketers to ‘listen’ to the data ‘signals’, distinguish the insights from the noise and deliver what people value most via the appropriate channels in the proper context.
Against this backdrop, the Internet of Things is not about technology. It’s about the ability to tap into real-time insights and input that will allow marketers to tailor marketing and calls-to-action to suit the requirements of individuals, not audiences.
Consumers expect to get the answers and services they want, customised precisely for them
There are broad implications for brands and businesses.
Marketers will need to design customer experiences to dynamically respond to context.
They will also have to begin with empathy and map the journey with the consumer in mind. They will have to cease focusing on static objectives (showing an ad to an audience at a specific moment) and adopt an approach that allows them to evolve with consumer needs and quickly respond with information or assistance that fulfills those needs in the ‘mobile moment’.
Consumers expect to get the answers and services they want, customised precisely for them, in the exact moment that they want and need it. And these moments are growing exponentially, redefining daily life and creating an avalanche of micro-moments when marketers, those who have the capabilities to anticipate the cues, can step in to offer assistance, ease friction, improve service, amaze the senses, or just show they ‘care’.
The more connected consumers are, the more opportunities there are for meaningful and valuable brand interaction and engagement. And the better the benefits for everyone will be.
