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Has Your Marketing Adjusted for the Current E-commerce Surge?

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Pandemic lockdowns across the nation have turbocharged e-commerce, with online sales growing by triple-digits since social distancing went into effect. Many predict a longer-term change in buying habits that will continue after the crisis has passed. The new environment is pushing some AccuList’s clients, especially retailers, to up their online game. Is your marketing ready? Most marketers are not, according to a recent Profitero and Kantar survey of 200 brand executives, which found that only 17% believe their organizations are leading competitors in e-commerce.

E-commerce Marketers Need to Prioritize Key Strategies 

E-commerce marketers need to quickly prioritize key strategies, advises a recent post by Forbes magazine’s CMO Network contributor Sarah Hofstetter. A problem identified by the Profitero and Kantar survey, for example, was that only 11% of organizations have functional-level e-commerce goals in place. Hofstetter urges organizations to make e-commerce a part of everyone’s job, from building e-commerce KPIs into bonuses to accountability for quality content on retailing websites to cross-functional e-commerce goals to overcome internal silos. Next, marketers should recognize that, because online consumers are likely to shift among brands in a time of limited inventory, delay and hyper-competition, they need to boost online profiles and product discovery efforts. That includes targeted SEO and SEM, strong ratings and reviews, engaging targeted content, and aligned multichannel outreach. Third, e-commerce’s new hyper-competition requires a shift from offline to speedier online tactics, such as algorithmic matching of competitor price changes and real-time tailoring of product assortments and promotional strategies by audience. Fourth, organizations can beat competitors by boosting online agility. Note that 63% of brands do not test and optimize their content to improve sales impact (Profitero and Kanta survey), and 61% do not use digital shelf analytics or shopper panel data to test, measure and improve digital execution. So brands that digitally test new products, new traffic-generating variables and new marketing messages can get ahead of the curve.

Messaging and Media Mix Can Adapt to New Realities

Janet Balis, a principal of Ernst & Young LLP, recently penned a Harvard Business Journal article offering broader advice for marketers as they lean into today’s new buyer realities. The nuances of creative messaging and brand voice have become more delicate, she notes, warning that commercially exploitative brands will not fare well. An example of smart messaging comes from Guinness, which shifted its usual St. Patrick’s Day focus from celebrations to longevity and well-being. Plus, organizations that promote doing good, from food bank donations to repurposed manufacturing for PPEs, enhance brand image for the longer term, as long as contributions are perceived as material and not solely for commercial benefit. Next, since the mix of consumer-preferred media platforms has changed during the crisis, marketers may want to modify their media mix, for example with more ad-supported premium video streaming to take advantage of spiking digital entertainment, or advertising around peaking news consumption (broadcast or digital). Finally, marketers will want to put a greater emphasis on behavior trends and response tracking to better adapt messaging and targeting. Closely observing trends on social-media platforms and e-commerce product pages can help more quickly spot opportunities and looming problems.

Even Small Retailers Can Use Google Tools to Boost Agility

Google is the lead search engine for e-commerce players, and it recently offered advice for using its tools to improve results during the pandemic and beyond. Even smaller, less sophisticated retailers can take advantage. For example, the online agility advised by Forbes and Harvard Business Journal articles requires staying informed of market and customer changes. Tools such as Google Trends and Google Alerts help users stay up-to-date on local conditions and customer mindsets, while retail-category metrics for Google Search and Shopping campaigns help spot shifts in product category demand. In the overcrowded e-commerce space, transparency and accuracy also loom large in capturing fickle visitors and buyers, so Google advises not only updating the customer-facing website but also the Buyer Profile on Google Maps and Search, for example to show changes in hours, extra safety precautions, shipping timelines, delivery or pickup options, etc. Finally, online customers now expect companies to rapidly adjust. So, within Google Ads, e-commerce efforts should update campaigns for any product or policy changes, and retailers should also enable automatic item updates in the Google Merchant Center to keep inventory and product data current, especially for price and availability.

Avoid Segmentation Missteps to Boost List ROI

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List segmentation is key in targeted direct marketing, which is why the AccuList team offers clients help in defining best-performing customer segments via predictive analytics services and data management services. Over the years, we’ve learned that the secret to success is as much a matter of strategic mindset as technical expertise. A recent MarketingProfs article by Mitch Markel, a partner in Benenson Strategy Group, makes that point by identifying some of the common strategic errors that can trip up a segmentation effort.

Obvious Parameters and Old Strategies Dig a Rut

Marketers need to be aware that segmentation models can slip into an ROI rut. Use of obvious profiling parameters and assumptions is one reason. Certainly, demographics (or firmographics), stated needs, and past purchase behavior are essential in grouping for likely response and lifetime value, but people don’t make decisions solely based on these factors. Markel urges research that also looks at fears, values, motivations and other psychographics in order to segment customers or prospects not just as lookalikes but also as “thinkalikes,” which can be especially helpful in crafting personalized content and messaging. Markel cites the examples of car buyers grouped by whether they value safety over performance, and food purchasers sorted for whether they stress healthy lifestyle or convenience. Past success is another reason segmentation can get stuck in a rut. Because segmentation requires an upfront investment, marketers tend to want to stick with proven targeting once the segmentation study is completed. But today’s hyper-personalized, digital environment has accelerated the pace of change in markets, perhaps shifting customer expectations and preferences away from an existing segmentation model. Markel advises an annual “look under the hood” of the segmentation engine to see if segments are still valid or need appending/updating. An annual audit can avoid the expense of a broader overhaul down the road.

Big Data Blindness Ignores Potential Audiences

One outcome of segmentation based on existing customers is blindness to potential audiences. Segmentation research often uses the existing customer base and surveys of people that marketers assume should be targeted. This can create marketing campaigns that miss groups that Markel calls “ghost segments,” people who could be among a brand’s best prospective customers. Markel suggests a periodic look at non-customers for conversion potential as one way to capture these “ghosts.” And, of course, if a new product or service is in the works, research should ask whether it will attract new groups differing from the existing customer profile. Another reason ghost segments are common is that marketers, overwhelmed by the task of sifting “big data,” fall back on whatever data sets are handy. Markel suggests that it would be better to bring in big data at the tail end of segmentation. He advises analysts to start by creating segments using primary research, add existing customer “big data” to target those segments more efficiently, and then plug segments into a data management platform for insights on other products, services, interests, and media that may correlate.

Analytics Miss Without a Companywide Strategy

Finally, Markel stresses that a segmentation study that ends up residing only with a few marketing decision-makers will fail to live up to its ROI potential. Customer and prospect insights have relevance for multiple departments and teams, from sales to customer service to finance. In order to deliver a seamless, personalized customer experience, Markel suggests creating 360-degree customer personas and promoting them throughout the organization. Management can start with workshops to educate employees on the use and importance of those personas both for their departments and the organization, and then can schedule check-ins to show team members the resulting benefits of segmentation and targeting implementation. If segments are made relatable, it will ensure they are used and embraced across the organization.