BrandPost: Customers Demand a Holistic Marketing Framework

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As the lines between brand experiences and digital transformation have blurred, marketers face an increasingly complex and evolving challenge. Getting it right is the single most exciting opportunity.

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As customers move to digital brand interactions in substantial numbers, they are finding that the differences between a customer experience based on 2017 technology and one built today are huge. The modern approach is driven by an integrated framework that provides a cohesive CX, to the extent of tracking and managing customer interactions. Using these fundamental constructs, it is possible to build a more compelling experience that will delight the customer and deliver for the brand. This is connected marketing.

Connected marketing can improve efficiency in a complex environment that has resulted from four disruptive forces: changed consumer behavior, a volatile market environment, the chief marketing officer’s dependence on alliances with other departments, and budgetary pressure.

For the CMO, connectivity is a matter of understanding marketing as part of an interconnected ecosystem. This reimagining of the brand lets the CMO reduce the complexity of marketing process management, and it also lets marketing become the source of innovation and growth for the organization. Building such an ecosystem requires the CMO to adopt new approaches: becoming data-driven, increasing responsiveness, supporting rapid scaling, and ensuring that content is personalized and relevant.

That requires a cohesive platform providing the right set of solutions and tools for delivering connected marketing. A cohesive platform eliminates the complex and time-consuming integration of multiple tools and services. Just as important, it affords a single view of the customer journey and allows the team to measure their effectiveness and facilitate data-driven decisions.

Omnichannel—the ability to connect with the customer in every channel, seamlessly and consistently—is at the heart of a customer-centric approach. Capgemini accomplishes this by building “customer singularity” based on intelligence and insight, delivering a frictionless experience across CX regardless of where it occurs.

Best Practices for a Connected Marketing Experience

Although every brand is different, some best practices have value across nearly every connected marketing project. These include:

1. Develop a strategy with the right KPIs, benchmarks, and goals for the connected marketing ecosystem

2. Build a holistic dataset to understand customers on a one-on-one basis.

3. Focus on personalization capabilities to deliver value wherever the customer is

4. Provide content that creates compelling experiences and delivers appropriate information

Moving Forward: Advice from the CapGemini and Adobe Experts

As experts in connected marketing, Adobe and Capgemini have broad experience and skills developed over numerous projects. They recommend that you start by putting the customer at the heart of all decision making, developing a deep understanding of the customer based on data and direct feedback. It is also wise to start small and build up new capabilities in the future. Connected marketing doesn’t happen in a day. Identify where and how the most impactful solutions can be delivered quickly, then move to add more. Teamwork is essential. It takes a collaborative effort, including sales, marketing, and support, to deliver connected marketing that works for the customer.

For more information about connected marketing solutions delivered by Adobe and Capgemini, please click here.

Copyright © 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.

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