People-Based Marketing Isn’t Magic – It’s What Customers Expect

If Cinderella were around today, she would have ordered a carriage on Uber and scheduled her housecleaning on Handy. She would have RSVP’d to the ball on Google Calendar, and swiped right to find her Prince Charming.

No “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” or fairy godmother required.

Today, personal, on-demand products aren’t magic – it’s what customers expect.

Goods and services are instant, on time and scheduled. They’re easy, seamless and individualized. And the dynamic has shifted: customers are willing to give brands more information in exchange for a tailored experience.

For marketers, it’s no different: to reach and relate with a customer, the right communications need to be delivered at the right time and in the right way.

That’s why marketers have embraced the idea of people-based marketing, an approach that “targets single individuals as they engage across every device, every browser and every channel both on and off the website,” according to an e-book by our partners at Bounce Exchange. The goal is to foster a strong customer relationship, customer experience and brand loyalty.

Because new technology has unlocked big data and astute insights, people-based marketing has emerged as the key to crafting individualized customer messages. According to MarTech, people-based marketing means brands can “target real people across channels and devices using a persistent identity,” and develop an experience that’s relevant and helpful.

What does that mean for our modern-day Cinderella? Maybe she received marketing emails from a retailer about the gown or glass slippers she looked at online because an astute email marketer knew she was engaging with the brand. Plus, thanks to third-party data and smart technology, the email marketer knew Cinderella was a bargain shopper. Cue the coupons.

According to a study commissioned by LiveRamp, the vast majority – 92 percent – of marketing executives agree that people-based marketing is a “strategic imperative.” But few are able to execute: less than one in five said they could build a complete picture of their customer across channels, including in-store browsing, online activity, email, social and search, along with newer technology such as chat bots and wearables.

These evolving technologies and purchasing habits have created an overwhelming flood of consumer data. Marketing personalization exists on a continuum, but people-based marketing is only becoming more important.

Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring how people-based marketing is responding to a shifting customer-brand relationship.

But we won’t be going it alone. We’ve gathered some top thought leaders across verticals – including advertising, automation, hospitality and media – to talk about how people-based marketing is changing the industry.

Here’s who will be joining us on our People-Based Marketing panel:

• Gary Beck, Chief Strategy Officer at Endai
• Alessandra Ceresa, Content and Engagement Specialist at GreenRope
• Jason Oates, Chief Business Officer at LiveIntent
• Debbie Tolman, Senior Manager of Audience Engagement at Cox Media

We’ll dig deep into what customers expect and talk with some of the retailers and services who are executing strong people-based marketing campaigns and seeing results. And we’ll look at how data is a key game-changer.

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