Why trusting your gut is still an option
Following more than a decade where marketing has focused on big data, allowing marketers to target, segment, re-target and define their customers to the Nth degree, has the current pandemic brought back the need for a marketer's intuition?
Covid-19 has raised questions as to the usefulness of big data in marketing. With an, (yes, I’ll use the most frequently used word of 2020) unprecedented situation like a pandemic, how can big data algorithms hope to explore the intricacies of understanding how consumers' lives and motivations have changed; how can we compare the emotional feels of today's consumer, with those of the last ten years. Yes, the volume of data is still there, and growing, but does it now fail to grasp the complexities of emotion and gigantic changes to peoples' lives?
I would argue now, that marketing requires new levels of empathy with customers, something which big data alone cannot share. Big data, by its nature, is just that, lots and lots of data, which allows you to monitor trends, and build audience ideas and segmentation. But it cannot unpick the complex emotions that different groups are feeling post a COVID-19 lockdown. Empathy does not come from data. Empathy comes from a human-to-human connection.
So, how can you ‘connect’ with your consumer in a post-lockdown world?
1. Listen to your customers
I have always believed passionately about the importance of customer service, or experience, sitting under the marketing function. Your customer service team are the most-connected with your consumer, they hear the good, the bad, and dare I say, sometimes ugly. If, you’re not connected to this team, or at least part of it, now is the time to rectify that and place your customer at the heart of your activities.
Speak to your customers – on the phone, over Skype/Teams/Zoom. Find out what's worrying them on a personal level, find out what they want in our ‘new world’, and work out how your product or service can support or eradicate that concern.
2. Don’t discard the data you have, but approach it with caution
Big data, or whatever data you still have will still be relevant and valuable, so inspect it as you normally would. But humanise it, working in conjunction with point 1 you will still be able to identify some useable trends to support your marketing.
3. Listen to your gut
If you're connected to your customer, don’t underestimate the importance of listening to your gut. Will your customer like it? Is it too early for this piece of activity? Is your customer ready for it? Does the carefully planned 3-year campaign need a rethink (almost definitely!) If you're listening to your customer, your gut will often be able to tell you if it’s a good or bad idea.
So is big data dead? No, big data still plays an important role in strategic planning, it gives huge insight into customer behavior, but a connected marketer, or founder will now be needed to really unlock an emotional connection with their customer to deliver effective campaigns and strategy. It’s time to take a leap and trust your gut.