This was the question posed at the recent CIM digital marketing summit.
In October 2015 the Chartered Institute of marketing held its third digital summit in London at The British Museum, London. The keynote speakers explored digital transformation, the current state of the nation and the importance of culture within digital marketing. Here are some of the more salient findings.
We live in a society that is fueled by constant change. People now seek answers from alternative sources rather than from the brands themselves. We now look to opinion leaders, bloggers and social media in general to gain advice, whereas previously we would go directly to the brand for answers.
“Culture is the patterns of behavior that are encouraged or discouraged by people and systems over time” – Ned Morse. Ash Roots, Director of Digital at Direct Line Group, believes culture is where you spend your money and your time.
Six crucial elements needed in the culture of a digital team are:
- Role model leadership
- Agility
- Customer-focus
- Innovative and experimental
- Open and collaborative
- Data insight
- Consumer touchpoints
To truly engage with a consumer, you not only need to know each of your consumer touch points, but also the knowledge of which touchpoints are most effective for your brand and how best to utilize them.
Here are the six pillars of customer experience:
- Personalization – knowing your customer and designing an experience tailored to their needs
- Time and effort – creating an experience which provides a simple buy system
- Resolution – assume the customer is always right. Then take a proactive approach to fixing the situation
- Expectations – responding to brand promise
- Integrity – acting with the interests and intentions of your customer and staff first – and in doing so build trust
- Empathy – the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the customer and react accordingly
- Entertaining marketing
For those of us who are familiar with digital marketing there were no ground breaking revelations at the summit. However, the big take away for me was that the majority of UK businesses are still finding their way around the digital landscape and determine which channels are most suited to their organizational needs. In most cases the advice and guidance of an agency would be the most effective way to answer that question.
Adrian G Stewart
