Well….Actuary! Behind Adaptive Marketing

These days consumer data is everywhere! Just by reading this article you are providing insight into your behaviors, your tendencies, likes and dislikes while being online. While you can argue that to some degree consumer behavior hasn’t changed with buying decisions, the method in which they gather insight and information has.  The line from a stimulus to point of sale is not a straight one by any means. And, as a consumer before I buy your product or service I actually have to like you (the brand) even though majority of what I (the consumer) base my opinion on will largely come from the experiences of others who I may or may not know. In an age where the average shopper use more than 10.7 sources of information before buying, simply having a website will not make a company present in these critical online activities.

Adaptive marketing is an approach that enables marketers to actively track and respond to consumers in real-time. This marketing method is driven by data and focuses on the making the experience more relevant to the needs of consumers. The emergence of mobile and social has actively increased the necessity for individuals to feel like they are a part of movements and communities. One could easily make the case that this applies in a B2C and B2B context. 

So what are you looking for in the data? 

Majority of the good insight is information that the general consumer is unaware that they are giving you because as a marketer you’re simply monitoring their normal habits. These activities such as when they are most active online, what information they share with friends and what type of devices they are using. Of course, there is much more insight and data that can be collected but the goal is to find out where your audience is heading and how you can meet them there.  The rapidly evolving technologies, platforms and habits of consumers make up a digital age where you must engage and exchange information with your brand audience. So in that sense it’s probably better to call it a connected age in which brands create strategies that are nimble like startups. These same brands must constantly strive to build connections that will provide sustained value for their audience.

The best marketing still creates an emotional connection with its audience. However, instead of just measuring what a campaign did, marketers can utilize empirical data to pre-inform a gut feeling. Doing so at least gives brands a starting point to engage and exchange information with their audience.

About the Author
Bryan Young is CEO of digital agency BEC, an adaptive marketing firm based out of Raleigh, NC. At 25, Bryan was finalist nominee for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and named a Top Entrepreneur under 25 by Businessweek. Bryan has run adaptive marketing campaigns for the likes of the Democratic National Convention, CLT Airport, Clinique and Colliers International.