Beyond Conventional Marketing: A Marketing Leaders Guide to Digital Consumer Experiences

A customer-centric mindset helps you to better understand your customer, build more targeted messaging, and tailor experiences to their needs. Of course, there's more to it. Diana Haussling, Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Experience and Growth at Colgate-Palmolive, joins us to share why a customer-centric mindset is essential for your marketing strategy.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to build a seamless customer experience
• Elevating the consumer journey
• The importance of leveraging consumer data

Keywords

• customer-centric mindset
  
  

URL

customer-centric-mindset-diana-haussling



Heightening Customer Experience

Every person can be a consumer of Colgate-Palmolive, which expands its opportunities on the marketing side. The company puts the customer at the center of everything it does, focusing on anticipating its consumer's needs and engaging with them thoughtfully across all channels. Also, leveraging consumer data is critical for understanding, personalizing, and elevating the consumer experience.

“Our primary focus is on anticipating the needs of our consumers, making sure we create a product experience that has the quality and efficacy they're looking for, and sometimes even more than they expected”



How to Adapt Your Marketing Strategy to the Consumer

The consumer has evolved and changed, thus requiring businesses to adapt their marketing strategies. Your traditional ways of working might be good. However, the consumer should be at the center of everything you do, which requires you to rethink how you approach marketing, engage with consumers, and help them see the relevance of your products in their lifestyle.

“The advancement of retail marketing and the ability to connect to that consumer all the way through to the point of purchase means that we, as marketing organizations, have to rethink how we approach our planning and consumer experience.”



The Evolution of Marketing

Although the marketing basics of understanding consumer needs, building a brand, and driving demand generation remain unchanged, the way businesses engage with consumers has evolved. With the rise of digital marketing, companies can now connect with their audience across various channels and formats, making it a crucial component of any effective marketing strategy. It's important to consider how these different touchpoints impact the consumer and understand their behavior in each of them.

“The evolution of what it means to be a marketer today means that you're selling a product that most likely can be sold digitally. It means that you're connecting with consumers in multiple different channels and multiple different formats.”


For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and our RSS, or your favorite podcast player! Instructions on how to follow, rate, and review the show on major podcast platforms can be found here. Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Online shopping has never been easier than it is today. You can order almost everything you could want online, and it will be delivered to you in a matter of days. However, in-person customer experience still plays a big role in the fashion industry. So we wanted to find out how some of the best fashion brands balance and leverage both in-person and digital experiences. To do that, we invited Stephan Lukac, Marketing Director at Indochino, on to the podcast.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Indochino's key differentiators
• In-person versus digital customer experience
• Retail consumer behavior changes
• Building a seamless customer experience

Keywords

• fashion customer experience
  
  

URL

fashion-customer-experience-stephan-lukac



The Next Level of Personalization in Retail

One of the main differentiators that make Indochino stand out in the retail and fashion markets is product personalization and premium in-person customer experience. This approach has enabled Indochino to become one of the largest custom apparel companies in the world.

“In our world of "Amazonification" and commoditization of our products, where you don't get to have that experiential or talk to a person as much, that is a differentiator”



In-Person Versus Digital Customer Experience

Online tools simplify daily tasks a lot. However, in retail, in-person is still the dominant approach when it comes to servicing new customers because it delivers an enjoyable customer experience. Also, many need guidance in choosing fabrics and styles or getting measurements. Generally, repeat customers will then switch to online.

“The offline, or what we call retail channel, service new customers better”



Building a Seamless Customer Experience

Younger generations strive to take the best out of online and offline experiences and benefit from both. So fashion brands should focus on providing a customer experience as seamless as possible, ensuring that it's smooth, efficient, and enjoyable.

“This is the new type of Gen Z approach. There is no online or offline. There's omnichannel, and that's it”


For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and our RSS, or your favorite podcast player! Instructions on how to follow, rate and review the show on major podcast platforms can be found here.Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

When it comes to business success, digital transformation should be a top priority, no matter the industry. The challenging part is understanding how to set up a proper digital transformation strategy and its key components. Johnny Russo, Chief Digital Officer at Lamour and MLG Brands, joins the latest episode of Beyond Conventional Marketing to teach us just that.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The five core pillars of digital transformation
• How to align people toward the same goal
• The difference between good and great goal setting
• His book Mastering Mindful Leadership

Keywords

• digital transformation
  
  

URL

digital-transformation-johnny-russo


Digital Transformation Pillars

Digital transformation is complex and you have to consider multiple stakeholders, the support side, the process side, and the team side. Throughout his career, Johnny has used a personal framework to drive digital transformation based on five core pillars. These are education, partners, data and change management, culture, and people. 

On the education side, ensure you create a continuous learning environment and share learnings across the team. On the partner side, engage with all your partners and build a win-win scenario. Data helps you drive change management more efficiently. Regarding culture, nurture a culture of curiosity, enthusiasm, positivity, and collaboration. The last pillar is about having the right people in the right positions.

“Digital transformation is aided by a great technology stack, but you need the people and processes for it to come to life”


Aligning People Toward the Same Goal

Working in a multi team environment is challenging, and you have to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to business goals. It all comes down to prioritization, tracking, and actioning those goals. You should also set up yearly goals and break them down monthly, weekly, and daily.

“The difference between a good goal set and a great one is action and prioritization”


Mastering Mindful Leadership

In his book, Mastering Mindful Leadership: 105 Ways to Become the Leader Your Employees Need You to Be, Johnny describes 105 nuggets of wisdom for any leader aiming to achieve short-term and long-term success. Johnny is on a mission to inspire the new generation of leaders, no matter their roles.

“I hope this book is about a new wave of leadership that examines what it takes to manage a team of individuals to get them to buy into a team concept, inspire them, motivate them, get them to care, and do it with respect and a smile on your face”


For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and our RSS, or your favorite podcast player! Instructions on how to follow, rate and review the show on major podcast platforms can be found here. 



Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode, we discuss:

• Consumer behavior changes
• The importance of personalization
• Why marketers have to evolve with their customers
• How to drive innovation for consumer marketing
• What makes a great customer journey

Keywords

• greatest hits 2022
  
  

URL

greatest-hits-2022



Consumer Behavior Changes

In recent years, we’ve seen game-changing changes in consumer behavior. In the first three months of the pandemic, digital penetration increased by about ten years. So, the number of people who are shopping online and are comfortable shopping online is far greater today than it was just two years ago.

“Things like buying online, pickup in-store, all of those sorts of new age technologies that drive better consumer experiences will become more and more important  to the consumer”



Use Your Customer's Time Wisely

We only have twenty-four hours every day, most of which we dedicate to things like sleeping, work, personal hobbies, and so on. If you're in marketing, you have a small window of somebody's day to try and get their attention. So think of designing meaningful and relevant attention-grabbing moments.

“Somebody's attention is the most valuable currency they have, and the basis for that is time is the most finite resource any of us have”



Take That Risk

In digital marketing, you need to be willing to do something you've never done. Take risks and don't be fearful of what you don't know. Go out there and teach yourself things you don't know.

“If you want something you've never had, you need to be willing to do something you've never done”



The Power of Commitment and Integrity

Your business success depends on attracting great people and committing to the company's core values. Always strive to make a product to the best of your ability and take care of your customers.

“Build your product with integrity, stand behind it 100%, and success will follow”



Why Is Personalization Complex and How to Succeed at It?

Personalization complexity is determined by three challenges. One is strategy challenge, as organizations need to figure out how to make personalization meaningful to their customers and link it to their strategy. The second is organization challenge, and the third is technology challenge. A move towards personalization should be treated like any other transformation effort.

“Personalization can't be that pretty ribbon that you put on a virtual, physical package that gets delivered to customers, but it needs to be part of that package or part of the delivery”



What Makes a Great Customer Journey

The customer journey is at the center of all of everything that you do. Ensuring a great customer journey comes down to exploring and testing things out, being willing to be wrong, forgetting your assumptions, following the expertise of other departments or following what the data is telling you.

“You have to be willing to test things, be wrong, forget about your assumptions, follow the expertise of other departments and follow what the data is telling you”



Evolving With Your Customer

As a marketer, when thinking about how to structure your strategic marketing plans, focus on these 3 factors: Where to invest, how to invest, where to disrupt. These include everything from occasion, brand, package, price and channel to online brand presence and methods of getting your customers' attention. Also, you need to consider how to evolve digitally with your consumers.

“As you think about how to ensure your brand's legacy online, remember that now everything is digital, and, secondly, evolve with your consumers because if everything is digital now, then anything could be shoppable”



Driving Innovation for Consumer Marketing

When you think about innovation, it has to start with either an opportunity or a problem you can solve. During the process, look for digital tools that can help you leverage that opportunity or solve that problem. Everybody approaches innovation in different ways depending on their own skills and capabilities. One of the most effective approaches is to leverage your strengths to solve problems and drive innovation. Unfortunately, many people focus on improving their weaknesses instead of working on what they are good at.

“Innovation is a simple concept. It's just problem-solving. It's just how you, in creative ways, seize opportunities and solve the problems of your brand or organization”



Experiential Marketing in the Digital Era

Many experiential initiatives marketers employ focus on brands. However, Alo Yoga transcends their brand and concentrates on health and wellness. The goal is to guide and engage with people along their journeys, delivering value, and helping them develop. Community is at the center of what Alo Yoga stands for. Along with fashion partners, influencers, yogis, holistic wellness community leaders, athletes, and celebrities, the community embraces all types of individuals on a wellness journey.

“I believe your IRL experience should match your URL experience, whether you're shopping on com but then coming into the store, going to an event, and then coming on social, or you are with us in the Metaverse or buying your first NFT”



Equalizing the Marketing Game Through Digital

Digital is a crucial part of driving marketing and business initiatives. To do that effectively, engage with your fans, and use digital to serve and delight your customer better, whether it's through access or reach. There are dozens of technologies and digital platforms out there. Choose the one that works for you and helps your brand and company evolve and progress.

“Love your fans, engage with your fans. They will be your biggest advocates for your brand and product, so engage with them and see how you can partner with them to help your brand and company”



Why Direct Customer Feedback Works Wonders

Marketers search for the winning formula for getting more customers and driving business growth. One of the best ways for that is direct customer feedback. Digital channels allow you to speak to every customer and record that information so that you can take action on it.

“Having a direct customer relationship where they directly talk to us, that's never gonna be something that a third party can get in the middle of”


For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player! Instructions on how to follow, rate, and review the show on major podcast platforms can be found here. Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Every marketer searches for a winning formula for getting more customers and driving business growth. Some experiment with various advertising tools and formats, while others try to guess what would grab their customer's attention.

But have you ever tried asking your customers directly? As David Cost, the Vice President of E-commerce and Marketing at Rainbow Apparel Co, says, "Customers want to give you feedback when you make it easy, and that data is super valuable." Let's see how that works.
For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player! Instructions on how to follow, rate and review the show on major podcast platforms can be found here.Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Every brand and business focuses on digital marketing today. But not everybody has an endless budget and big teams. Is there anything that works for small and medium brands?

Luis Velasco, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Jollibee, believes there are three things you can focus on to be impactful and help you connect with your consumers. And today, he joins us to share his secret sauce for winning at digital marketing.

For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Attention might be one of the most scarce resources nowadays. All brands fiercely compete to get people's attention and ensure they have the best experiences possible. That is the idea of experiential marketing; it aims to provide an exciting and unforgettable experience to your customers.

But experiential marketing is considered to work most effectively in off-line environments. Is there any way to ensure the same experience in the digital world? Angelic Vendette, the Chief Marketing Officer at Alo Yoga, has some strong arguments for a positive answer.

For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Innovation is a word people repeat… a lot. But what does this really mean, and what is the most effective approach to drive consumer marketing innovation? To answer these questions, Ivonne Kinser, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at Avocados From Mexico, joins Anushka Lokesh.

For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Which company comes to your mind first when you think of outstanding consumer marketing? We bet there is a great chance your answer is Coca-Cola. Even if not, we have to admit that marketing is one of the elements they have truly mastered. Their team does an impressive job of appealing to people's emotions and interests and keeping up with the latest trends.

But how do they do that? To find out, we invited one of Coca-Cola's marketing champions.

Kate James, Senior Manager of Digital Commerce Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company. Kate considers herself a digitally native storyteller. Today, she talks about what makes Coca-Cola's digital marketing initiatives stand out and how the company evolves with the consumer.

For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Dear marketers, learn the following: personalized consumer experiences should feel natural. Consumers should walk away with the feeling that interacting with your brand makes their lives easier and better.

But the question remains, how can you do that effectively?

Logan Bennett, Personalization Experience Lead at Carhartt, joins us to share his expertise in personalization. He also talks about how to set up the customer journey and the role of data in curating seamless personalized experiences and marketing strategies.

For more interviews from the Beyond Conventional Marketing podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!Beyond Conventional Marketing is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so