The fight prevails. As technology advances, the modern-day CMO scrambles to makes tough decisions on fulfilling their customers’ needs and wants. With many challenges to overcome in the wake of mobile, CMOs must consider new and unfamiliar solutions to resolve such challenges. We’ve highlighted the top 3 challenges and reveal their unique resolutions.
1. Creating Amazing Omnichannel Experiences is Just a Dream
Creating amazing omnichannel experiences is a real problem for the CMO. While some might think to provide seamless experiences via multiple channels or offering compatibility between devices is sufficient enough, that way of thinking is a far cry from the seeing the big picture of omnichannel experiences.
Sridhar Ramaswamy, SVP Ads & Commerce at Google asks the right questions about the issue below,
“If I didn’t believe so much in the role of technology, I might get worried. How can we as marketers possibly scale relevant messages and [personalized and contextual] experiences across all devices at all moments? How can we possibly deliver smart marketing that recognizes each customer is unique, while simultaneously driving the bottom line?”
Resolution:
Creating personalized omnichannel experiences is a huge subject matter, hence we created this series of blog posts. But here’s the big tip: To complete full omnichannel experiences, a CMO must synchronize their current customer data with on-going, real-time mobile activity. Often, this is done by an integration of data from the e-commerce, POS or CRM system with their customers’ mobile activity. With the proper data connections, the CMO will better understand customers on a hyper-personalized level and use that to create specific, targeted, personalized messages in each channel that reflect instant reactions.
2. Can’t Create Meaningful Dialogues with Customers
The second struggle is all about the communication with customers. Customer mobile engagement is a real on-going issue for CMOs. Consumer behavior and customer expectation changes by the minute making it nearly impossible to predict their next move. Rather than scrambling to catch up with customers or chase the latest trends, evaluate how you communicate with customers and understand their responses/reactions to your engagement.
“The expectations for relevant, personalized, and assistive experiences will continue to skyrocket. We’re heading toward an age of assistance where, for marketers, friction will mean failure, and mass messages will increasingly mean “move on.” – Sridhar Ramaswamy, SVP Ads & Commerce at Google
Resolution:
CMOs need an arsenal equipped with the right mobile engagement tools. We call these tools, mobile assets, which serve a purpose of re-engaging your customers and nurturing them. Rather than pushing out broad, generic or impersonal messages to your customers on mobile, you need to get contextual and personal with them. Be there at the right moment, place and send them the right message or offer. Mobile assets are more than just push messages, they can be mobile coupons, in-app surveys, polls, in-app messages, rich messages, etc. Keep in mind that it’s not only the asset you use but the context you trigger them. Embracing proximity and location technology is also a way to reach your customers wherever they are.
3. Struggles to Manage & Understand Customer Data
You can have all the data in the world, but if you don’t know how to manage it, you can’t understand it. Therefore, you’ll make false pretenses and conclusions about your customers. So, why is it such a struggle for the CMO to manage all this big data? Because it’s siloed. It’s separated per system or platform. And while it is scattered, CMOs struggle to connect the dots to see the complete customer experience.
Resolution:
Encompassing the right mobile analytics tool is the first step to managing your customer data. If data is pulled from your eCommerce, CRM or POS software into your mobile analytics platform, then you’ll be able to see user behavior inside the app or outside. Measuring the metrics inside or outside your mobile app pertains a multitude of things. If you’d like to find out what those metrics entail, read our post on leveraging your mobile data here.
Every CMO Needs to Read This eBook on Omnichannel Marketing:
There’s a whole list of other outstanding challenges that boggle down the CMO. That is why we encourage you to download our eBook on mobile marketing automation and engagement.