Data is in abundance on consumers and their
online engagement, be it content and/or eCommerce. What this means is that the
marketers need to be more savvy about customer needs than applying “one size
fits all” approach to talking to their customers. Digital competency is hence
about harnessing this data and utilizing it to segment, target and serve the customers
– need I say “real time!”
To become a digital-savvy organization, we
require an understanding of our marketing touch points and internal
infrastructure that can support a multi-pronged approach to customer reach. Marketers
need to ask the following questions in their organization:
- What
digital experience drives engagement and conversion in our company/industry?
- What
marketing channels are effective for what customer segments and why (data to support the claim)?
- What
data is captured in our systems and is it compatible across customer touch
points?
- Who
owns the digital experience and are the right people empowered to make “consumer-centric” decisions?
If the answer is not a definitive yes to all of
the above, I’d suggest there is some work that needs to be done in achieving
true digital competence. The road map should hence, clearly identify
deficiencies and investment needs to start utilizing the amazing power of our
digital interaction with customers. Some of our more familiar metrics such as;
customer acquisition rate, retention, marketing ROI, CLV, ARPU, etc., will then truly represent a view into our marketing success and provide deeper insights into how to optimize customer experience.
