When to talk to your customers in an omnichannel world

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Colin Withers
Brand & Communications Manager
Ariad Communications
cwithers@ariad.ca
416-646-3138

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Traditionally, marketers sent
communications when they
had something to say.
2

3
Today — in the age of
the customer — we now agree
that we should talk to customers
when they have a need.
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4
Today, consumers
connect with brands
in so many ways,
so many places.
But when
is that?
EmailMobile
TV
Direct
Social
In Store
Outdoor
Digital

5
There are two
dominant approaches that
let marketers know
when to talk to their
customers…
H O W

Traditional
Insights
Behavioural
Data
VS

Traditional
Insights
Behavioural
Data
VS
By deeply understanding the
customer, and the
customer’s journey,
marketers can identify key
moments to reach out to
customers.
Knowing a customer’s
behaviour or immediate
context can signal a
clear need, which can be
addressed by a timely
marketing message.

Traditional
Insights
Get to know
the customer
deeply
Speculate
(in a logical way)
about their
needs
Behavioural
Data
Understand
actions in
context
Pick up on
explicit
or implicit cues
about their
needs
VS

Customer has a need
that Marketing can
address. Reach out to
customer now!
Traditional
Insights
Knowing who the
customer is, including
motivations, pain points,
and journey
Behavioural
Data
Knowing a customer’s
behaviour and / or the
customer’s current
context
But the end goal is the same

P R O S V S C O N S
o Many distinct inputs allow marketers to
understand the customer’s true needs
o Can be used to make insight-based decisions
as long as the inputs remain constant
PROS
o Customer needs can change, requiring occasional
updating of insights
o ROI can be unclear or difficult to quantify
o Laborious to obtain / organize inputs
CONS Traditional Insights
o Inputs are based largely on data from digital
channels, which are increasingly used by consumers
o Does not necessarily require in-depth customer
knowledge, hence once initial setup is complete, insights
can be obtained quickly and efficiently
Behavioural Data
o Substantial start-up costs that can include new
specialized hires and software investments
o Potentially difficult to integrate into more
traditional marketing departments
o Not everything is knowable through observing behavior in the
moment (e.g., underlying motivations, concerns, thoughts).

E A C H A P P R O A C H H A S I T S O W N T O O L S A N D M E T H O D S
Traditional Insights
o Buyer personas
o Focus groups
o Surveys
o Customer Relationship
Management
o Customer Journey
Mapping
Behavioural Data
o Clickstreams
o Browsing behaviour
o Contextual Cues
(e.g., location)
o Next-Best-Action
o A/B testing

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What is
right for you?

I S Y O U R C O M P A N Y P R I M A R I L Y …
B2B marketing typically has a complex
and lengthier sales process, with fewer customers
than B2C marketing. These features lend themselves well to
traditional insights tools.
B2C marketing typically produces a great deal
of customer data, the cornerstone of
the behavioural data approach.
B2B
—
B2C
—
Hybrid Approach
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights

A complex sale may be harder to understand from a simple
data point of view. There may be decision-makers, influencers
and champions involved. Some of the key decision-making
activities may be non-trackable such as a project team
meeting in a B2B sale. Traditional tools such as buyer personas
and buyer journey maps may offer the best way to tease out
the complexity of the sales process.
A transactional sale typically provides many data points,
and can rely on e-commerce. You will be able to track
people’s movement online to anticipate their needs. Tools
such as following clickstreams, testing different digital
properties (e.g., through A/B testing) and using
automated marketing procedures will allow you to
continuously optimize to the customer’s needs.
Complex Transactional
I S Y O U R S A L E P R O C E S S …
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights
Hybrid Approach

D O E S Y O U R P R O D U C T S E R V E …
Niche markets provide the opportunity to really
get to know the customer. A tight, well-defined and
unique segment will appreciate that you know and
can anticipate their needs.
If almost everyone is interested in your product or
service, it might be difficult to deeply know the customer.
Instead, looking for telltale signs that a consumer is
searching for your product can be achieved through a
behavioural data approach.
A niche market
—
A mass market
—
Hybrid Approach
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights

I S Y O U R S A L E S C Y C L E …
B2B marketing typically has a complex
and lengthier sales process, with fewer customers
than B2C marketing. These features lend themselves well to
traditional insights tools.
Because your customers’ behaviour might change at the
drop of a hat (or with the introduction of some new
technology), the behavioural data approach can help you to
track customer changes almost in real time. Website
analytics will tell you what parts of your website are
addressing customer needs, and can help to identify where
on the path to purchase your customer might be.
Predictable and knowable
—
Sometimes or frequently changing
—
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights
Hybrid Approach

For one reason or another, your business does not
generate rich amounts of data. That’s OK!
Traditional insights tools help you to use the
customer insights data that is available, as well as
empowering you to go out and collect customer
data to inform your marketing (e.g., through
conducting focus groups).
17
As the name implies, the behavioural data
approach will work for you because your
customers are leaving behavioural traces that
you can track. Their behaviour is telling you
what their in-the-moment need is, so make
sure you are listening.
Low levels of customer data
—
A great deal of customer data
—
D O E S Y O U R B U S I N E S S G E N E R A T E …
Hybrid Approach
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights

D O Y O U H AV E A H I G H D E G R E E O F A C C E S S T O Y O U R C U S T O M E R D ATA A N D I N S I G H T S ?
Marketers can often generate traditional insights themselves, with
their own budget. If access to customer data is limited, create it by
putting together a survey, or focus group, for example.
Your organization is either small enough and
connected, or has made great strides in making all
customer data accessible across the organization.
No
—
Yes
—
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights
Hybrid Approach

D O E S T H E M A J O R I T Y O F Y O U R S A L E H A P P E N …
Traditional insights can track your customers’ needs regardless of
where the sale happens. Do buyers decide over lunches and
handshakes? Traditional insights can help discover the buyer’s
concerns at each step of the way (e.g., buyer journey maps).
The behavioural data approach is largely built through
observing what your customers do in an online, connected,
and omnichannel world.
Offline
—
Online
—
Hybrid Approach
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights

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When your brand is reaching customers through
direct channels, you have the opportunity to
gain valuable first-hand insights from the people
who interact with your customers — your sales
team. For example, an ethnography can provide
insight into what needs your brand is (and is not)
addressing.
20
Having a direct line to your customer will make
implementing the behavioural data approach
much more successful because you will be able
to more clearly observe and understand their
behaviour.
A human sales force
—
A direct channel
—
D O Y O U R E A C H Y O U R C U S T O M E R S T H R O U G H …
Behavioural
Data
Hybrid Approach
Traditional
Insights

I S Y O U R C U S T O M E R V I S I B I L I T Y …
Traditional insights can uniquely reveal the unknown. When a
customer journey is occurring within a prospect organization,
for example, traditional insights are the most effective way to
learn when to reach out to different key influencers.
You are very clear on who your customer is, which means
that you know exactly whose behaviour to watch for. As your
digital capabilities grow, you will strive towards a one-to-one
relationship with each customer, identifying who they are
more and more quickly.
Hidden
—
Indentifiable
—
Hybrid Approach
Behavioural
Data
Traditional
Insights

B E H AV I O U R A L D ATA E X A M P L E
Amazon recommendations
can be based purely on
behavioural data like
browsing history.

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B U T T R A D I T I O N A L I N S I G H T S A R E V I TA L F O R C E R TA I N L I N E S O F B U S I N E S S
Telus used personas based on traditional insights to plan
their B2B content strategy.

E X P E D I A U S E S B O T H T R A D I T I O N A L I N S I G H T S …
Traditional insights
(based on industry
knowledge) reveal that
travellers are especially
open to future travel
right after returning
from vacation.

… A N D B E H AV I O U R A L D ATA
Based on last year’s trip
planning, Expedia bets
that the customer may
be planning the same
trip again.

Expedia goes beyond basic
behavioural data gathering to
store consumer behaviour
over long periods of time.

By using a hybrid
approach,
Expedia maximizes
customer data.
27

o Deeply understand customer by
creating customer personas and
buyer journey maps.
o Design specific assets for particular
points on the customer journey.
o Use data when possible, to test
whether traditional insights hold
true.
o Build on data collection to the
customer journey.
o Data-driven journeys mean marketers
must coordinate with other
departments (e.g., IT) within the
organization.
o Testing is “real-time.” Marketers can
learn whether messages are
addressing customer needs through a
continuous process.
o Planning moves away from traditional
campaign cycles, and towards an in-
the-moment view of the customer.
Traditional Insights Approach Behavioural Data Approach
o If your hybrid model is a transition
from traditional insights to a
behaviour based approach, build
towards a hybrid model slowly, but
surely. Start small before rolling out a
true hybrid model across each
campaign or project.
o If staying with a hybrid approach,
clearly identify what parts of the
customer journey rely on traditional
vs. behaviour-based insights.
Hybrid Approach
M A X I M I Z E Y O U R E F F E C T I V E N E S S , R E G A R D L E S S O F A P P R O A C H

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When to talk to your customers in an omnichannel world

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