Creating value when content and experience are data-driven

“The only way to drive revenue and drive acquisition, conversion and retention is through remarkable customer experiences, so there’s got to be a commitment from the top,” said Gene De Libero, Chief Strategy Office and Head of Consulting for marketing technology consultancy GeekHive, at our recent MarTech conference.

He added, “There are some disconnects that are preventing us from getting to that state of Nirvana where we’ve got lots of people coming into the hopper, they’re converting and they’re sticking around as longtime customers. There’s a disconnect when it comes to customer experience.”

This value only presents itself in the form of customer acquisition when it is part of a CX and content strategy that is linked through data.

Content and experience

Of course, content and experience are driven by data and marketing technology, so marketers should really strive to manage and integrate all four of these areas to drive high quality content and experience.

“You have to really understand content and all it means to your customer,” De Libero stated. “You need a really solid grip on data management. And you really need to understand the enabling power of marketing technology and how it can help you drive these things forward. When you unite these four areas — customer experience, content, data and marketing technology, you’ve got yourself a really solid unified strategy.”

Goals and technology

“We’re talking about operational constructs here, and these constructs are wrapped in your business, marketing and technology goals,” said De Libero.

“When we’re working with our clients, when we think about how they should be looking at their business to create those remarkable customer experiences that drive acquisition, conversion and retention, the first place we start is by analyzing, and really understanding, what their business goals are,” he said.

“As for technology, what we’re talking about here is, again, the enabling technologies that you use in order to create value for not only the customer, but the people inside your business, these enabling technologies that help you get the work done,” said De Libero.

One operational challenge, according to De Libero, is that experience, content and other operations are siloed within the organization, along with their data. The data especially needs to be unified and analyzed because of the insights it will yield about customers and their preferred experiences.

“If you’re thinking about your data strategy and you really get to know your customer through that data and the things they want from you, it’s easier for you to create content that is consumable and consumed,” he said.

Customer data, analytics and ecommerce

“Customer data platforms are a good place to put our customer data and manage it so other systems can consume it,” said De Libero. “We’ll need analytics because we can’t manage what we don’t measure. You’re going to need an analytics strategy as well.”

He added, “And let’s not forget that ecommerce is also a pillar that helps you activate these strategies. Ecommerce is not a purely transactional relationship. There’s activity that happens before a transaction takes place, and there’s activity that happens after. So you have to look at ecommerce holistically.”

This is where content and customer experience come in, especially when more and more consumers are buying online.

“They all play a part in shaping the journey that gets the customer to the transaction, and after the transaction supports them in a way that helps them become a loyal customer,” De LIbero said.

Watch the full presentation from our MarTech conference below.