Look-A-Likes, an Underutilized Tactic

Getty Images. Flickr. Lana Isabella
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There are two main groups in marketing. The acquisition marketing, and relationship marketing folks. Here is a quick definition of each group:

Acquisition Team = Focused on driving anonymous people to known individuals (sign up, purchase, etc)

Relationship Team = Focused on driving known individuals to take action (purchase, repurchase, etc)

It is important to distinguish the two audiences, as marketing moves to an orchestrated individualized experience, we need to be able to create experiences for individuals across all the digital channels based on what data we know about them. 

Some individuals are anonymous (we don't have any data on them) and are limited to certain digital channels to communicate to them (for example, email needs permission first but display retargeting does not). 

Known individuals come with a greater set of data and opportunities to reach out through other channels (following the same example as above, they have opted-in to email, mobile, etc). Hopefully you also have purchase and behavioral data to now use for better communications to these customers.

As we look to grow our customer base, we need to be smarter about who we attempt to acquire. It's time to optimize the acquisition budget. Optimizing our acquisition efforts to grow the right kind of customers can help grow revenue quickly instead of a one size fits all mentality. This is where the acquisition team can learn from the relationship team.

1. Identify current high value customers based on purchase & engagement data. Who buys often? Engages regularly? Who doesn't?

2. Using your data (first party) what values are in common amongst these audiences? Interests, source, etc?

3. Using third party data, what other attributes bubble up for these groups? Age, demographics, lifestyle, etc?

Now that you have a good snapshot of what makes up a high value customer, you can use this information to be much smarter and strategic with your acquisition dollars. This new data can now be used for retargeting efforts in display to drive awareness from similar non-current customers. You can also use this data for social targeting as well. Use this information to target similar customers on Twitter and Facebook. Don't stop there though, there is more to be done.

There is another critical hand-off that most miss, and thats the period between acquisition target to opted-in customer. Use the information you have been using to acquire these customers / leads to better inform your welcome and nurture programs. Can you take the same data elements and inform your content in your first communication streams to customers? Also, use these communications to fill the gaps in your data to better inform these communications. Are there certain data points you need to help increase conversion? Tactics like progressive profiling, web & click behavioral targeting are all good ways to fill in the missing data points.

Are you doing this already? What kind of results are you seeing? How targeted are you getting with your acquisition efforts?

Moving to a Customer Centric Approach

Marketing is changing. Customers are interacting with companies and brands across various channels and marketers need a better way to manage these interactions. The power of a computer is in the pocket of customers at almost every moment throughout the day. They can quickly tweet, update status, check email, look for nearby places to eat with just a couple touches. We as marketers have to change the way we approach our customers. They are in more control now than they have ever been in the past and yet we as marketers treat them all the same. We "blast" email. We show everyone the same display ad. We don't always coordinate the messages either. Display might say one thing, while our email says something completely different. Our mobile message might even be different than the previous two. You see where I am going.  Our customers do see across social, email, display, mobile, and web as their interactions with one brand. It's time for relationships to come first. Those that are not jumping on the bandwagon are going to be late to the party...that's if they even make it to the party!

Lets break down some key components of relationship. In any relationship, there is a give and take. Providing value and listening are key components of any relationship. In fact, if you ask my wife, listening is probably the most significant component of a successful  relationship. Don't tell her, but she is right. Listening is extremely important. If we spend the time to listen, we can better understand the needs of our significant other, or in marketing's sense, our customer. These needs are always changing. What's needed or wanted today is not the same for tomorrow. In digital marketing, listening to the behaviors of our customers can give us great insight to how we might want to communicate to them in the future. I've seen over 5X increase in revenue per message  over campaigns using "in-market" data over preferences.

If we as marketers continue to focus on the merchandising and promotional calendar that we are used to, we will miss the subtleties of what the customer needs from us today. We aren't listening, we are talking at them. From a branding and marketing standpoint we used to approach marketing with a campaign perspective (we are going to promote X, tell everyone).  But this has changed. We can't continue to speak to the customer in generalities. We have to treat them as if we were in a relationship (listen to their needs and respond accordingly).  What the customer actually wants from us takes precedence over what we might want to promote to them. We have to provide them value. We have to show them we are listening. We need to show them we are attuned to their needs and what's in their best interest. Moving to a relationship first has proven valuable (I have plenty of actual client case studies) at driving higher revenue per customer and most importantly higher chance of going out on that second date. 

Let's look at a recent study from Adobe about ROI of returning customers.​ Below is a few charts showing the increase in return captured from repeat customers. If we can build stronger relationships the more likely customers are to return and, in the end, the more money they are going to spend with you versus your competitor.

​From Adobe Report: The ROI from Marketing to Existing Customers.

Here is my calling to marketers. Stop trying to score on the first date. Try and show them why you are the one. It won't be easy. Relationships never are, but lifetime commitment is waiting for you around the corner and better yet, more revenue. Why are you better than the next competitor? How are you going to solve their problems for today, tomorrow? Are you listening?

Mountain Travel Symposium 2011 #MTS2011 - Marketing Online - Tools & Strategies to Grow T

I was just fortunate enough to present at #MTS2011 - the Mountain Travel Symposium - here in Beaver Creek, CO. The title of my presentation was Marketing Online, Tools & Strategies to Grow Top-Line Revenue. An extremely broad topic, with way too much data and insights, I have posted the presentation on SlideShare and have embedded it here as promised.

Mts2011 digital marketingtipsandtools-ethology-f

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Specific to travel, we looked at opportunities to improve revenue online, talking about the tools, processes, and insights we use to do so. Plus, we handed out lasers to make the presentation more interactive, a big hit indeed. We walked through a planning process designed to find tactical flaws related to revenue, and create active steps to build effective programs as a result. Great crowd, thanks for having me!

8 Social Media Tips for the Hospitality Industry

A week ago I was lucky enough  to present at Social Media for Business (SMAZ), an Arizona social media conference that draws over 300 attendees from the state and beyond.  Fred von Graf, the curator and networking machine Arizona is so very lucky to call our own, always puts on a great show, and this time, SMAZ featured Jay Baer and Amber Naslund's book tour stop for "The Now Revolution" a social media must buy, and a must see if they come to your town. I'm definitely blessed - Fred has allowed me speak multiple times knowing that I'll bring something new to the table if asked to do so.  While I've presented planning steps, resourcing suggestions, and orchestrated content marketing and strategy discussions around social at SMAZ, and have seen many others present how-to's, talk about metrics, inspiration, and more, I couldn't recall seeing an industry focused presentation beyond some great ones geared towards non-profits.  In turn, I created and presented "Social Media Best Practices for Hospitality" an industry focused tip deck that I hope you find helpful, and I hope to expand on as time goes on.

Hospitality Social Media Tips - SMAZ Feb 2011 - ethology

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Of course, there's some number of them to allow this post to "go viral" - 8 in this case.  In order, the tips you'll find inside include:

1. Understand Content Demand In Relation to Your Business
2. Identify, Quantify, and Examine the Opportunity Around Topical Points of Interest
3. Organize Internally for Success
4. Be Hospitable (for crying out loud)
5. Encourage the Behavior you Desire
6. Social Location/Mobile Opportunities
7. Get the Right Kind of Help
8. Utilize Remarketing to Extend the Conversation

Take a look and let me know what you think.  Was there something I missed?  I've also included some references to properties doing it right - be sure to follow them for real life references beyond the relevant life of this slide deck! Thanks to Altimeter Group and Jeremiah Owyang for the great study referenced, and as always, Brian Solis and JESS3 for the Conversation Prism (I have one in my home and work offices, what would I do without it?).