Business decision makers are anxious to push “what’s next” for their brands online, but are treading softly, as too many digital choices overwhelm them and organizational barriers and budgets influence their marketing dollars.
This was the clear conclusion I took away from the Committee of 200 (C200) Annual Conference I attended in late September. C200 is a members-only organization, made up of women CEOs, senior corporate executives and business owners. I have been a member of this group for over three years and moderated a panel discussion on exploring the digital ecosystem.
Joining me were JCPenney’s vice president/director of jcp.com Nick Bomersbach and Dachis Corporation senior partner and former Forrester Research senior analyst Peter Kim.
Create relevance and infrastructure
Corporate decision makers are facing a two-fold challenge. The first is to ensure marketing that programs are relevant and compelling to customers without getting caught up in the digital hype. The second is to build an organizational framework that will support such programs and new thinking.
Based on what the panel sees happening in the market and on the lively Q&A that followed our discussion, both are hot-button issues. Here are some of the core ideas shared by the panel:
Build virtual circles
While I was preparing for the panel, I overheard one woman ask her colleague with a sense of urgency, “Are you on Facebook? Are you on MySpace?”
This dialogue is encouraging because executives are starting to see the influence and potential of the Web. Seventy percent of U.S. households have Internet access and 40 percent have broadband.
In today’s media-neutral environment, it’s important that business leaders understand how brands can use the digital platform to make their conversations with customers more valuable and how to employ a continuous process of learning about those customers. By offering engaging and measurable content online where customers already are, organizations can connect with them in an intimate space and begin to build virtual circles of knowledge and relevancy around them.
If you pay attention to the data part of this, brands will attain layers of information about customers and be able to build strong and more targeted programs to service them better in the years to come.
Given society’s need to connect and the new digital tools we have to support community and conversation, a digital strategy can offer huge opportunities for organizations.
Focus on consumer behavior
To reach the new generation of consumers, Kim advised brands to change the way they communicate. He emphasized two major forces impacting consumer behavior that can help shape the way brands talk to customers.
“Our post-9/11 society feels a greater need to be together and share. This is telling for how businesses should structure conversations to customers,” said Kim. “Also, technology is faster, cheaper and more accessible than ever. This has created a shift in media consumption and increased adoption of Internet technologies, especially social media.”
“The challenge for established brands like JCPenney is to learn how to engage differently with the new generation of consumers,” said Bomersbach.
He stressed that the customer’s voice cannot be ignored and that we [marketers] must engage in their dialogue.
Bomersbach shared an example in which JCPenney customers expressed their dismay at a manufacturing change in a favorite pair of pants on jcp.com. The online community’s cry of “why fix it if it ain’t broken” turned JCPenney on its heels, and they worked to restore the original design.
The audience took this message to heart, but wanted to understand how once you have your customers engaged and a dialogue started, what is the etiquette in responding to customer feedback?
Kim was quick to answer that responding to every question and concern was not realistic or scalable. Instead he advised you have find a way to galvanize the community and get them talking to one another. Customers with related experience will chime in to offer their own advice.
Be an agent of change
Prior to the panel, we surveyed C200 members on a number of issues to gauge their pulse on digital marketing. A majority of respondents either indicated that they have not or have only somewhat been successfully evolving their digital capabilities.
Since most organizations are divided by departments, each with different goals, organizational barriers can be extremely frustrating. This limits how marketers create and apply new digital programs. To combat this challenge, Bomersbach suggested executives should structure their departments to move new thinking through an organization.
“Marketers should proceed with diplomacy and patience to adapt internally. Since you’re dealing with differing agendas and levels of marketing understanding, speak to departments in their terms and show them how digital can address their problems,” said Bomersbach. Furthermore, leaders should set aside a percentage of their marketing budget to experiment and innovate. Have reasonable expectations; don’t expect a dollar per dollar shift.”
Justify the bottom line
Beyond understanding digital, business leaders are seeking assurance for their bottom line before they buy into new programs. One CEO in the audience specifically asked about the cost and process of creative online advertising.
In response, I explained that for the price of a TV campaign or photo shoot for glossy print ads, we can implement a multi-faceted digital campaign that’s a 365-day conversation. If you invest in content and are inventive with how you use actors and models, you can promote your campaign through online sites, such as YouTube, that are free of charge.
Perhaps the greatest bottom line justification is the unparalleled measurability of digital programs. Implemented correctly, digital programs provide precision level targeting, great cost efficiencies, and an ability to measure virtually everything, from brand to transaction.
Remember what hasn’t changed
Even with all the new emerging media opportunities, we need to remember that the core fundamentals of marketing 101 have not changed. Human nature has not changed. The importance of customer-centric advertising has not changed. What has changed is that technology is available to everyone. Digital continues its shift to the very center of most marketing activities.
Over 90 percent of the survey respondents affirmed our convictions when they reported that they believed having more “wired” and “connected” consumers offers more opportunities than challenges. Business leaders are committed to moving their organizations forward in the digital ecosystem and are working to ensure that their infrastructures support this move.
Gay Gaddis is president and CEO of T3.
