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23rd April 2018

Shifting retail’s focus from e-commerce to an inclusive Customer Algorithm

E-commerce took off in the early 2000’s and created a buzz around 24-hour shopping, but it’s also heavily skewed retail marketing to rely on online insights to generate sales. In 2018, this focus is making a colossal shift back to a more balanced, in-depth ratio of offline to online consumer insights.

Offline insights are similar to Google Analytics for websites – rather than being for an online platform they identify and help retailers understand who is visiting their physical stores.

Understanding how consumers engage with your brand means collecting demographic data, social interests, movement and behavior data, dwell times, and frequency of visits. Physical venue insights make up a huge proportion of any industry customer base, and the importance of capturing this kind of data should not be ignored going into 2018.

The shift we are seeing in actioning consumer insights is using favored methods of data capture, such as website analytics, social media and e-commerce statistics, and including physical data capture methods, like point of sale, location and presence analytics, and social WiFi and guest WiFi analytics.

Download the free Customer Algorithm guide to use personalization and increase customer retention by 24%

For example, when a consumer visits a retailer website there are tools and tactics for tracking their journey through the website, how long they dwell on particular product pages, and send an email from the CRM database reminding consumers there is an un-purchased product in their shopping basket.

Retailers can have this same example acted upon in real-time from when a consumer walks into their store, what zone of the shop they lingered in the longest to when they leave, and how to use this behaviour data to send hyper-targeted customer segment and product marketing to not only prompt their purchase, but also improve their future experiences in store.

Purple have introduced the Customer Algorithm, a concept that highlights this combination and action of both the online and offline worlds of data in order to achieve a high level of personalization.

Where online metrics aren’t available to paint a picture of customers’ demographics, likes or dislikes, transforming your venue to capture the data already available is the future of the customer experience.

Download the free guide below and find out how using consumer insights to personalize communication can increase customer retention by 24%.

Click here to download

20th March 2018

Introducing the Customer Algorithm: Bringing your digital and physical analytics together

The digital economy is facilitating a new era of engaging with customers. And so, businesses are always looking for new and innovative concepts to improve the customer experience.

We wrote a piece earlier this month around ‘new retail’; a strategy first introduced in 2016 by Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma. We have taken this concept and the principles it carriers, and extended it far beyond the retail sector into hospitality, entertainment, transport, healthcare and more. We’re calling it the Customer Algorithm, and it applies to all businesses that have a physical venue.

The Customer Algorithm is a concept that aims to combine data from both the online and offline worlds, and leveraging this data to enhance a customers experience through personalization.

Your customers have their own ‘digital algorithms’ – design for them

Personalizing a customers experience can have a significant impact on retention and revenue. However, efforts to engage with customers and make the most of revenue opportunities fall flat when you can’t identify who is in your venue – more than half of customers can be anonymous entities.

Customer segmentation is key to anticipating customers needs, and a proactive approach to removing customer anonymity and identifying their needs and behavior is critical.

You must place customers’ at the center of your operations, with full consideration of the end-to-end customer experience, from awareness right through to purchase and referrals.

You therefore need to commit to embedding data and smart technology into your operations, because in order to place customers at the center of your operations and understand their ‘digital algorithms’, you need to know exactly who they are and understand their buying requirements; both in the online and offline worlds.

The value of data capture

Understanding customers and how they engage with your brand means collecting data. Specifically data around demographics, interests, engagement, dwell and frequency of visits.

You can begin to gather this data through a number of different methods including, website analytics, social media, e-commerce etc. Although, notice that these methods of data capture focus on the digital world, and not the physical.

Remember that the customer algorithm concept is one that aims to combine data from both the online and offline worlds in order to achieve personalization. Offline makes up a huge proportion of your customer base and the importance of capturing this kind of data should not be underestimated. If you fail to do this, you risk being left behind.

Where online metrics aren’t available to paint a picture of customers’ demographics, likes or dislikes, transforming your venue itself, embedding data and smart technology into your operations, is the future of the customer experience.

Data capture methods in a physical space can include; point of sale, location analytics, and WiFi analytics, just to name a few. Using these methods, you can not only begin to understand who your customers are, but you can start to build an in-depth understanding of how they engage with your venue. This data is crucial in allowing you to design for their ‘digital algorithms’ and in enabling you to reach a proportion of your customer base that will be missed through deploying digital data capture alone.

Combining this data with your online efforts to enhance the customer experience through personalized engagement is key to implementing a successful Customer Algorithm strategy.

To help businesses understand the importance of marketing personalization and how it can impact revenue and customer retention, we have developed an in depth guide covering every aspect of personalization from understanding the Customer Algorithm, to achieving personalization through data capture, to creating a business case for marketing personalization.

Click here to open the report: How to amplify revenue through customer personalization

23rd November 2017

8 Marketing Trends for 2018

In 2018, marketing and technology will be inseparable. We have reached the point in digital strategies and marketing tactics where actioning data, personalization and understanding the consumer is what will result in growth and loyalty. Teams step back and reflect on the past year’s performance, what worked well and how to improve on the campaigns that didn’t.

Looking for metrics your competitors don’t have, to get the upper hand for next year, is also on the agenda. At the core of every campaign is the search for a direct line of engagement to consumers that is relevant and will resonate with wants, needs and interests. Purple see 2018 as the year marketing will work together with IT departments to create new opportunities and nurture warm leads with data centricity in mind.

2017 was the year for interactive content, influencer marketing, mobile video and live streaming, chatbots, augmented reality, short-lived content like Snapchat and mobile-first strategies and optimization. Steadily being adopted in the background, quantitative-based marketing (one of our picks for 2018) will make a splash next year as well as campaigns (and KPIs!) moving away from soft-skill metrics and towards clear and measurable results.

Read the 8 marketing trends for 2018 we predict will be a hit in 2018 with your team and your consumers, and download the guide on Top 10 metrics marketing executives need to get their hands on.

1. Personalization is mainstream – Proximity marketing is hipster
Personalization is considered a benchmark for consumers. They give out their details to brands, subscribe to newsletters and go out of their way to visit brick and mortar stores amongst the crowds of people. Proximity marketing will be next big trend for businesses to capitalize on for 2018; where consumers are sent 10% off discounts or 2-4-1 vouchers as a reward for their 5th visit in-store, or when it’s their first game of the season.

2. Quantitative-based marketing
Quantitative-based marketing means a more data-focussed approach to campaigns and even content marketing. The data brands are gathering and collecting from website traffic, email campaigns, online competitions and more is used to profile consumer segments and understand why consumers are engaging with your brand – but what about the physical spaces of brands? There are 10 metrics marketing are dying to get their hands on for 2018 to put them apart from the rest.

3. Qualitative surveys
Consumers are influenced by friends, family and complete strangers more than ever with the growth of social media platforms such as Instagram taking first place for most popular social channels (see point seven). Reviews and surveys should feature as part of digital marketing strategies because they offer multiple benefits; such as a valuable glimpse into your consumer experience, timely feedback on messaging and targeting, and a method of increasing online search engine optimization (SEO) to influence future consumers. Consumers will love that you’re listening to them and actioning their responses, which can help boost your loyalty.

4. Augmented reality content
Virtual and augmented reality content has been huge for 2017 after Pokémon Go took the world by storm. We’ve seen sports teams and fashion brands use augmented reality to create new and exciting experience for consumers; but as a relatively new marketing tactic, cost and time ratios make it a big investment. Marketing teams need to be sure the experience they create for consumers in 2018 is relevant and resonates with social interests worthy of a ‘love’, comment and share.

5. Voice optimised content
In 2017, 20% of online searches were done through ‘voice’ searches, using Alexa, Google Home, Cortana, Siri and more, and by 2020 this percentage could rise as high as 50%. Data gathered about consumers: click rates, return visits to stores as well as online product pages are key to optimising content for ‘voice’ searches in 2018. Cross-referencing CRM databases with insights collected in physical venues of brands will create an unparalleled picture of who customers are and their needs.

6. Data security is a selling point
As GDPR draws nearer for companies operating in the European Union, data security and privacy policies are getting a thorough re-write. Letting consumers – as well as other companies – know you are GDPR compliant and place an obvious importance on data security will give everyone peace of mind in 2018. Marketing departments who are using the data collected about EU citizens will be just as accountable as IT teams who process and store the data. There’s also a 20 million Euro or 4% global revenue fine for those that aren’t!

7. Change of most popular social channels
If you’re in marketing you are most likely aware of this point already, but Instagram took over Facebook this year as the most popular social media platform. However, knowing which social outlets are most popular with your consumers is what counts. Account-based marketing for social media is like a dream and a myth wrapped into one if you can get through the noise of competitors and kittens, but will soon be a reality for 2018. Going hand-in-hand with personalization, targeting consumers on their favourite social media platform rather than a blasted general ad will speak volumes (of clicks!).

8. Warm-outreach campaigns
Cold-outreach campaigns have been forecast for a comeback in 2018, but what about warm-outreach campaigns? What if you could identify new visitors and send them a follow up email of their visit based on the products they were considering while in-store? You would know they have visited, be able to see their movement throughout your venue and then be sent a discount offer based on their demographic. Sounds cool, huh?

Get ready for 2018 and download the free guide Top 10 metrics marketing want to get their hands on for 2018 with examples from our customers and how they are engaging their consumers.

 

2nd August 2017

Intelligent Insights: UK hotels and TripAdvisor reviews [Whitepaper]

Consumer opinion and online reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising, and influence 95% of travellers looking for accommodation on TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website. With 390 million unique monthly users – some of which are so active they revisit the site up to four times each month – leveraging the voluntary and honest reviews to improve customer service is key to building customer loyalty.

Hoteliers are battling with an increasingly global customer base who have constant access to social media, blogs, and videos on portable devices. Before travellers check in to a hotel they have expectations based on reviews they have read from previous guests about the room, facilities, WiFi, location, the photos they have liked on Instagram, and the rave review their colleagues have given on a gloomy Monday back at work. However, despite being so connected to our devices and experiences of fellow travellers, reminding guests to leave a review remains a challenge in the hotel industry.

Online reviews have the potential to increase conversion rates and produce an average 18% uplift in sales. Four out of every five TripAdvisor users will read between 6 to 12 reviews before they book, with one in every two travellers refusing to confirm a booking until they read at least one review.

Since integrating our Purple WiFi solution with TripAdvisor we have been a part of some incredible success stories in the hotel industry. In February, The Eldan Hotel Jerusalem collected 218% more TripAdvisor reviews, while SunSol Hotels across several locations saw a 500% increase in reviews collected in July – just one month after installing the connector.

This incredible surge of reviews, which also results in growth in the customer database, demonstrates the power an email prompt can have to a hotel’s universally accessible TripAdvisor profile. The increase in number and recency of reviews will also have a significant impact on the hotels’ search engine optimisation (SEO) based on TripAdvisor’s search algorithms. This means hotels will not only rank higher on the travel website, they will improve online visibility in their region and have a greater influence on future guests.

To better understand the relationship between increased reviews and improved customer satisfaction Purple’s Intelligent Insights looks at a sample of almost 2,000 hotels across the UK listed on TripAdvisor.

These insights are aimed to identify opportunities for hoteliers and marketing departments to improve their customers’ experience, including key insights into how personalisation has the potential to increase customer satisfaction.

Download our free white paper to gain access to these insights here.