Tag: COVID-19

These days, the new normal is becoming the new now, but there are still some challenges to navigate—especially as we head into the busy holiday season. And with consumers being more and more discerning about who they spend their time and money with, marketers across every vertical are challenged with making an impact. But it’s not all doom and gloom—and in fact, it presents unique opportunities for marketers and brands to change their approach for the better. If you’re looking for the best way to offer your customer a positive experience during this unusual time, here are some suggestions: 1. Communication, communication, communication. Whether you’re a restaurant or retailer, OEM or financial institution, communicating with your customers is key, especially if you’re offering an in-person experience. You’ll want to update them on new protocols, such as mask-wearing mandates, sanitization plans and other changes to the in-person experience, so your customer knows what to expect, but also so they feel safe. Similarly, if your operation is entirely online, either just for now or for the foreseeable future, sharing information about how your service has changed—and how your customer can still expect great service—is equally as crucial. As CMS Wire pointed out in August 20201, GlobalWebIndex shared a report showing that 37% of social media users have visited a brand’s social media page, 36% have liked or followed a brand on social media, 19% have asked a question to a brand on social media, and 15% have uploaded a picture or video to a brand’s social media page. Plus, other reports show a 20% increase in consumers reaching out to customer service for support. It’s clear that customers are looking to connect and communicate with brands in a variety of ways, so the easier you make that for them, the more confident they’ll be in supporting your brand. Speaking of… 2. Enhance the online consumer experience (CX). Entrepreneur shared insight2 from the Temkin Group that found companies with a turnover of $1 billion annually can expect to earn an additional $700 million within three years when they invest in CX. Technology plays a huge role in this, especially if your entire business is online. Making it easier for customers to buy what you’re selling is always a good idea, no matter what lifestyle category you fall into. So, if it’s time to upgrade your online shopping cart or enhance your website, don’t dawdle. Similarly, if you’re offering consults via Zoom or other conferencing platforms, make sure you’re set up to give customers something that goes above and beyond to keep them coming back for more. And if there are ways you can personalize the online experience, even better. But don’t rule out going the extra mile—Business.com recommends looking into AI experiences that can give your customer a more direct experience with what you must offer3, even if they can’t be there with you in person. 3. Enhance the in-person experience. Similarly, the more you can do to give your customer a reason to visit you in person (assuming it’s safe), the better chance you have of getting them to do so (and coming back for more). Certainly, a safe and secure in-person experience is key, with social distancing guidelines, plans for managing busy influxes of consumers, and—of course—cleaning and sanitization protocols. But over and above that, can you offer curbside pick-up (BOPAC)? Do you have mobile ordering, or the opportunity to buy online and pick up an item in-store (BOPIS)? How about socially distant consults? What about gifts with purchase, or gift-wrapping opportunities, especially leading up to the holidays? Tesla is doing something interesting with socially distant test drives, where customers can take the Tesla of their choice for a spin with a pre-programmed route set by the dealership. Now is the time to get creative and see what resonates with your consumers! 4. Meet your customer wherever they are. With the NFL hosting an altered season, big brands like Pepsi4 have had to get creative to make sure their customers know what they have to offer. According to Marketing Dive, the brand launched an initiative called “Made for Football Watching” to target all the viewers who will be at home instead of in the stands. Similarly, Disney, Hilton, Southwest Airlines and even the California Tourism Board have developed content that’s being used across Pinterest, where searches for “RV Camping Trips” have jumped 1300%, “Road Trip Routes” surged 250%, and “airplane essentials” increased by 170%, along with a 250% bump for “vacation spots.”5 Consider not just where your customers are physically, but where they are virtually—and show them how you can help them find what they’re looking for and enhance their experience no matter where they are, or where they’re going. 5. Remember that your customers are people, too. Yes, we’re all in a panic to figure out how to meet our revenue goals in this new world, but don’t forget your customers aren’t just walking dollar signs—they’re people, and they’re just as stressed out, confused and worried as the rest of us. As Business 2 Community points out, customer emotion data can be a big help in your “new normal” marketing plans6. Not only can it help you determine how best to communicate with your customer, it can help you learn the best forms of communication and how often to use them, and how you can best address their needs. The old-school manipulation tactics don’t work anymore. The more you can connect and communicate with people on a one-to-one level, the better chance you have of supporting their needs, and creating a new, stronger connection going forward. To learn more about how to connect with your consumers using the power of data, click here. 1 https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/7-ways-to-ensure-your-social-presence-improves-your-customer-experience/ 2 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/353979 3 https://www.business.com/articles/improve-online-customer-experience/ 4 https://www.marketingdive.com/news/pepsi-champions-football-fans-stuck-at-home-as-sports-marketing-shifts-focu/583657/ 5 https://www.marketingdive.com/news/disney-hilton-southwest-airlines-target-travel-planners-on-pinterest/583990/

2020 has been a year of change and challenges for businesses and consumers alike. With the global pandemic, we have seen stay at home orders put in place, a shift to work from home for many, major events canceled, schools shifted to online format, graduations and other end-of-year activities canceled, and more. As we move through the phases of reopening, everyone is figuring out how to navigate the ‘new normal’ in the wake of new safety requirements, businesses are working to determine what their day-to-day operations will look like as they reopen. The changing times have implications on how consumers act, what and how they purchase, and how they manage their daily lives. With these changing times, consumers are quickly adapting their lifestyles which impacts the choices they make on how they shop, bank and provide for their families. Businesses across the United States are trying to understand how consumers are feeling during this time and how that might correlate with their visitation patterns. Using Experian’s Mobile Location data, coupled with Consumer Sentiment data, we looked at foot traffic and sentiment trends in the retail space throughout the pandemic. As you can see from the chart, there has been a steady increase in household visits to retail locations since March that correlates with the rise in sentiment. Note the differences in visitation patterns across the regions. You can see some foot traffic spikes, which correlate to reopening phases in several states during the week of May 4th and Memorial Day weekend. However, you see a lower average of foot traffic in the Northeast U.S. where reopening phases are rolling out at a slower pace. It is going to be essential for businesses to craft marketing strategies on a regional level as guidelines for reopening are the state-level. This means that a business’s consumers look different based on where they are located and might require more targeted and sensitive messaging. For example, using Experian’s Mosaic segmentation, we further delved into what consumers look like today by analyzing those Mosaics who have the most positive change in regard to the pandemic, versus those that had the most negative. You can see in the charts that there is a significant difference between the Mosaics trending positively versus those trending negatively. Consumer segments have drastically different sentiment, and foot traffic patterns and understanding how your consumers are feeling and where they are shopping will help improve your  ROI. Having a comprehensive and targeted marketing plan will be essential for companies as they navigate the intricacies of reopening. Experian’s Reopening Package allows brands to take a phased approach to better understand and reach both new and existing customers through targeting, analytics and key insights. Companies can analyze their consumers’ sentiments and visitation patterns during the pandemic, segmented by Experian Mosaic® lifestyle segmentation group. Businesses can then take those insights and apply them to other models, or create their own models, to build out and run effective marketing campaigns that target current and prospective customers. A successful long-term marketing strategy needs to be data-driven, leveraging data and analytics to help craft targeted messaging. We can see that consumers want to shop again – foot traffic patterns appear to have increased since June, and sentiment is up – now it is necessary to understand where your customers fit into the spectrum. Missed our recent webinar, How COVID-19 Has Shaped Consumer Behavior for Retailers? Access the on demand version here.

With the growth of digital marketing and the targeting capabilities associated with online outreach, many predicted that this would mark the end of direct mail advertising. But if Millennials have anything to say about it, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Yes, believe it or not, Millennials are driving the resurgence of direct mail advertising, and many leading brands are now pivoting their omnichannel marketing plans to include direct mail. And with the USPS reporting more than 75.7 billion in marketing mail volume in 2019, this trend shows no sign of slowing down. Including direct mail in your plans may give your brand a better chance of reaching your audience. Why? 1. Millennials actually like getting mail. While most of us have decried “junk mail” as being environmentally unfriendly or just a pain to deal with, Millennials actually enjoy physical mail. Valassis recently cited research from USPS Customer & Market Insights stating that Millennials spend the most time sorting mail (about six minutes compared to the average, which is four minutes), plus they’re opening mail and reading it (at eight minutes versus the average of seven minutes). Valassis also conducted a study that showed that 68% of Millennials read print ads or inserts from retailers, and 64% prefer getting them through the mail. So, while digital outreach may be convenient, it hasn’t completely decimated the desire for that old-school, hands-on experience of opening and reading something that’s addressed to you. 2. Millennials respond to a multi-channel approach. Oftentimes, marketers think of omnichannel as being a combination of digital and TV, but when you add print into the mix, it can make an even bigger impact on Millennial audiences. Valassis found that 60% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after seeing an ad when it’s presented across both offline and online channels, while 72% of Millennial parents say print ads encourage them to go online and make a purchase from that retailer. 3. Millennials think physical mail makes for a more personal approach. You’d think that e-mail would feel more personal, but with the influx of spam most people get, that’s just not the case. In fact, 67% of people see physical mail as being more personal than an e-mail, with seven out of 10 saying they prefer receiving actual mail over digital mail. And for marketers looking to make a one-to-one connection, this is music to their ears. With changing marketing plans, the mailbox has less competition than the inbox.   Getting a catalog at their door with the perfect offer at the perfect time helps the marketer make the direct connection. 4. Direct mail lasts longer than digital mail. That may seem like an obvious statement, but there’s more to it than you think. When an e-mail arrives in someone’s inbox, it’s easy to ignore it, read the subject line and forget about it, or even just randomly delete it, if spam filters don’t take care of that on their own. But the average lifespan of a piece of direct mail is 17 days, which may account for how direct mail generates purchases five times larger than e-mail campaigns. It’s harder to ignore when it’s in your house and you have to physically handle it as opposed to just clicking a mouse to get rid of it. 5. Millennials trust direct mail. It’s true—research shows that 90% of Millennials think direct mail advertising is reliable. Plus, Millennials are 24% more likely to show mail to others, compared to 19% of non-Millennials… which means if they find a deal they like in the mail, they’re probably going to spread the word. Visit our Retail Marketing Solutions page to learn more about how we can help you find new customers and have more meaningful engagements with existing ones.

Retailers have always known that building a loyal customer base is the key to success. But whether they’d successfully done so or were still working towards their customer loyalty goals in Q1 of 2020, the global pandemic changed everything. With shoppers shifting purchasing habits almost solely online, retailers with an established online presence were able to navigate stay-at-home orders and other business restrictions. As of June 9, 2020, according to Experian’s Consumer Sentiment Index, half of Americans (47%) are buying more online than they did in the past. So those who previously relied on their brick and mortar business may have had difficulty staying afloat. Undeniably, the landscape has shifted dramatically, and it’s about to do so again as stay-at-home orders are lifted and retailers are being given the green light to re-open, albeit with guidelines and restrictions they’ve never faced before. With so many different messages that need to be shared, and the need to stand out among thousands of other retailers working to grab the attention of the same audience, mobile location data is an important tool in a retail marketer’s arsenal. For example, so much of the in-store experience moved online at the start of the pandemic. As a result, a lot of consumers have gotten comfortable with that format and may be apprehensive about the in-store experience, especially with all the changes required for re-opening. Using mobile location data, retailers can identify audiences that are more likely to return to in-store visits, and tailor messaging to address their questions and concerns to encourage their patronage. They can effectively communicate information surrounding the rules for in-store shopping, including face masks, social distancing, how they plan to protect their clientele, and more. If, after sharing their re-opening information, retailers find customers aren’t coming to them but are instead visiting competitors, mobile location data can help them determine consumer patterns based on competitor shopping to gain a greater understanding of why they’re shopping elsewhere. Using this information, retailers can adjust their outreach to better speak to their target customer and their needs, and encourage their visit with more relevant messaging. And of course, there will still be some customers who feel more comfortable continuing with online shopping. Mobile location data can also assist brands in identifying those audiences so that they can adjust their communications strategies and messages accordingly. Meanwhile, many retailers have shifted from a buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) model to buy online pick up at curbside (BOPAC), both for convenience and safety. As restrictions lift, some will soon be shifting back to BOPIS. Mobile location data can help you determine if this is a more preferred method of shopping by analyzing consumer behavior. If customers aren’t ready for an in-store visit but still have needs that could be met by a particular retailer, that brand can create messaging that supports their desire to do their shopping online and pick up their purchase—whether they come inside or opt for curbside pickup. The more retailers know about their customer’s habits, behaviors and interests, the more they can address their needs and concerns with personalized messaging that can make an impact. Additionally, because so much of life moved online during the pandemic, consumer data may be even more fragmented than before, with their attention spread across multiple devices and channels. Using mobile location data—in combination with demographic and psychographic data—retailers can learn more about consumer behavior, including stores visited, shopping preference insights, hobbies, and more. While the retail industry is facing incredible challenges in the wake of unprecedented change, the right data can help them bridge the gap between where they were, and where they want to be—especially when it comes to nurturing consumer connections. And as retail marketers work on new messaging that shares their unique plans for re-opening and emerging post-pandemic, how that communication is delivered, and who it’s delivered to, could make all the difference in a successful re-opening plan. Contact us today to find out how more about Experian’s retail marketing solutions. And be sure to check out our other retail blog posts as well.

Article written by Jill Canetta, Experian Marketing Services’ Chief Data Officer, and Mark Pryzbylski, Experian Automotive’s Senior Director of Product Management At this point, it’s indisputable that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed everything for everyone on a multitude of levels. And now that the country is moving toward easing stay-at-home restrictions and people are starting to venture out into the world, auto marketers are faced with unique challenges amid an uncertain future and customers who aren’t sure of the best step to take next in their ownership experience or potential vehicle purchase journey. However, that uncertainty provides an opportunity for brands to make deeper connections with current customers and interested consumers—provided they can understand and address their customer’s needs in a supportive way. You need to lead with empathetic messaging that directly addresses their needs and offers support during this challenging time. Data is the starting point, and Experian is ready to help. First, you need to understand what consumer outlook looks like on a national scale, in real time. Using insights gleaned from consumers across the country, Experian created a US Consumer Sentiment Index built on daily survey findings that outlines what customers are thinking and how they’re feeling during COVID-19. As of June 10th, 2020: 44% have automobile payments they need to make monthly, with Millennials and Gen X leading the pack at 50%21% are considering buying a new vehicle within the next few months, with Millennials at the forefront of this drive at 16%Of those considering a new vehicle, 63% will continue with their purchase as planned, 42% will buy something less expensive, and 18% will consider leasing, with Gen Z leading the last two these categories Certainly, this data can help auto marketers glean the information they may need to begin targeted outreach, especially when sentiment shows there’s still a need and desire to own, lease or rent a vehicle. But this is only part of the picture. To create a complete view of the customer, marketers need to fill in the blanks so they can thoroughly address their needs and let them know they’re both ready to help, and capable of doing so. For example, due to the changing landscape, it’s unlikely that dealership walk-in traffic is going to present the same opportunities for purchase that it once did. This means marketers will have to leverage new avenues to execute their outreach. Using the power of data, auto marketers can identify those who are most likely to be in the market for a new vehicle, such as those coming to end of lease or those who are soon to be in equity on their current vehicles. But how can this information help you in your outreach efforts? Demographic, behavioral, life event, lifestyle, automotive and attitudinal data can help you tailor a compelling message to address their stage of ownership—and potentially address their new or emerging needs as a consumer. Perhaps their child is starting college in the fall and needs a vehicle. Or maybe they’ve downsized and don’t need an SUV anymore, so a compact car would better fit their needs. When it comes to leaseholders, data can show you which leases are coming up for renewal or termination. Regardless of their situation, leaseholders will need to decide on their future vehicle needs whether it means buying their car, leasing another, or going in an entirely new direction—one that may potentially be more cost effective to address the issues they may suddenly be facing. Beyond identifying your target audience, you need to understand how to reach them. We also offer the opportunity for multi-channel media activation, leveraging our relationships with more than 100 media partners and digital platforms to launch and optimize your one-to-one marketing campaign across all channels. And to help you determine the ROI of your offline and online campaigns, our measurement tools help you gain actionable insights for future campaigns with easily digestible dashboards and reports. As we all adjust to the new landscape and find different ways to navigate the current environment, marketers need to be cognizant of how they’re targeting new consumers—especially when the landscape appears to be unstable. By addressing consumers with relevant and thoughtful messaging that supports their needs, marketers now have the opportunity to create deeper connections that can create loyalty that lasts a lifetime. Learn more about how the Experian Marketing Engine for automotive marketers can help.