Summary:
- Marketing strategies need to adapt to the current geopolitical climate
- Marketers are finding new ways to reach their customers
- Promotional strategies vary by industry
Inflation. Supply chain disruptions. Rising interest rates. All of these compounded issues play a large role in consumers’ mindsets and actions. People’s habits, wants and needs are changing. These shifts affect the way they shop, communicate, and perceive brands. As a result, marketers have had to up their game by evaluating their advertising strategies, doubling down on customer experience, and capitalizing on first-party data. Never has optimization and performance been so important.
Vericast commissioned Forrester to explore how marketers have changed their strategy to attract and retain customers in today’s geopolitical state. After surveying 316 marketers across an array of industries, we found that respondents want to deliver personalized customer experiences that drive growth, but companies struggle with optimized performance. They are uncertain about how to reallocate advertising efforts, adjust content and tone of marketing messaging, and balance deals/discounts with other types of promotions.
Marketers cited facing several challenges, including:
- Lacking the technology needed to help optimize their ad performance
- Struggling to define and reach their target audience
- Confusion around making sense of customer data, understanding customer needs, and developing personalized experiences
- Overall, respondents are afraid of losing customers and wasting spend
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Advertisers are taking action and trying new strategies, as the importance of understanding and utilizing first-party data is evident.
How are they doing it?
Brands are optimizing first-party customer data as a way to understand them better and create more relevant marketing experiences.
Within consumer industries (identified as grocery, consumer product goods, restaurant, and retail), we saw an increasing number of promotions offered – 67% of those surveyed said they created more targeted promotions/deals. Within these industries, 61% are also changing their messaging to focus on cost saving. In addition, they are increasing their advertising presence and changing their rewards programs.
The financial services industry is also changing its messaging to become more consultative (57%) and empathetic (54%). Plus, they are changing reoccurring fees and using data in new ways to understand customer needs.
What’s needed to succeed?
At the end of the day, brands must recalibrate their ad strategy with a focus on acquiring the right technology and data optimization capabilities. To win over the hearts and minds of consumers, brands must prove they are on their side by prioritizing content that appeals to their emotions. By presenting relevant offers/value in the right channel at the right time and experimenting with more frequent and newer forms of customer engagement, brands are able to capture and hold the attention of consumers.
Learn more by downloading the full report and watching the webinar recording featuring Dipanjan Chatterjee, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Vericast, September 2022, n=316
