Too many marketers rest on their laurels. Their profits are up from last year, and they are happy with the progress they have made, but they lack inspiration when it comes to business expansion. This is a big mistake. Twenty percent of CEOs will
fail to act on the latest digital transformation initiatives — and, as a result, put their firms at risk. This is why applying data-driven marketing to
face-to-face marketing campaigns is so important. Marketers can generate results far into the future and prosper long after an event has ended. Here is why data-driven live marketing will reign supreme in 2018.
1. Get More Accurate Consumer Data
The amount of data available to marketers is growing at an exponential rate. Companies have had access to
more data in the previous two years than in the entire history of the human race. Moreover, 1.7 megabytes of new information per second will be created for every person in the world by the year 2020. Marketers can use all of this information and plan future campaigns, make better decisions and solve problems.
"The use of Big Data is becoming a crucial way for leading companies to outperform their peers,"
says the Ivey Business Journal. "In most industries, established competitors and new entrants alike will leverage data-driven strategies to innovate, compete, and capture value. Indeed, we found early examples of such use of data in every sector we examined."
Live events are one of the best places to collect information from consumers. Eighty-one percent of trade show attendees have
buying authority, for example, which makes these events a lucrative way to nurture prospects. Collecting information — phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and so on — could lead to a steady stream of new consumers and provide marketers with a good return on their investment.
2. Retain Existing Consumers
Data-driven live marketing not only helps recruits new consumers but retains existing ones. Take beer brand Heineken, for example. In 2014, the company created a
live marketing campaign that took place across 30 London bars. Fans of the brand who purchased a drink received a complimentary branded wallet. In addition, consumers could fill in their details and location on Heineken's web app and get a chance to drive in a branded taxi across London.
Marketing opportunities like this can be a great way to reward loyal customers and keep them coming back for more. These promotions benefit both the consumer and the brand: customers win a freebie, while companies receive valuable information for their marketing and sales campaigns.
3. Fine-tune Consumer Segments With Surveys
Data-driven experiential marketing provides companies with valuable information about their brand. They can find out which consumer segments are purchasing their products and discover what consumers really like about their services. Trade show surveys are a fantastic example of live marketing automation in action. Marketers can ask visitors questions about their interests and purchasing habits and use this information to tweak their marketing and sales processes.
Live events are a good place to obtain feedback from consumers. "Marketing researchers commonly use qualitative research methods such as focus groups and quantitative methods such as surveys to obtain insights about target audiences,"
says the Houston Chronicle. "[However] both qualitative and quantitative methods were often too costly for many small businesses."
Data-driven marketing is growing all the time, and live events are the best place to gather information from consumers. Companies who incorporate live marketing automation into their campaigns have access to more accurate information, can tweak marketing campaigns and are able to retain existing customers.
Companies who fail to adapt to the latest technological changes — think organizations like Blockbuster and Kodak — could seriously damage their brand.
