Since I have nothing to report on
Summer’s Eve, I am going to write about Knowing
Your Audience by Todd Wilson of Media Post Publications.
In
the article he says: “We go
to great lengths to know and understand our customers. Behavioral data,
preferences and profiling, personas, surveys, and on and on. We continuously
collect a flood of digital information that can sometimes be overwhelming to
point of “data blindness” – losing the ability to weed out the true signals
from the noise”. As a Communications enthusiast, I’ve always wondered why I’m so averse to the idea of data collection? I’ve always felt like a hypocrite in this regard- After all, the process is one of the true ways that customer behavior and patterns can be ascertained and yet I'm a little repulsed by the idea. And now this article has gotten to the root of my aversion- data collection is not personal! It’s like getting a medical exam done by a machine and not a real live doctor. Granted, the machine has been programmed by a human being and knows exactly what to look for but the difference is that a machine can’t pick up the nuances and subtleties of another human being the way a doctor could.
There is some data that can only be gathered or measured through personal or live engagement. Hoteliers, for example, need to understand the wants, needs and desires of guests and these things can’t be garnered through digital methods. However, depending on the size of the hotel chain, personal engagement might be a daunting task. For big hotel chains, how do they adapt to each locale, the customers who visit them while staying true to their brand and delivering the experiences their loyal customers expect?
Todd gives Starwood’s approach as an example of a big hotel chain employing personal engagement. In order to understand the unique needs of the markets they serve, key members of the Starwood’s team, were moved to a few important international destinations. By doing this they gained a true understanding of those markets and the guests who visited them, which helped them to rework their brand strategy and adopting some local customs for wider use at their hotels.
Todd goes on to say that “It sounds like a novel and innovative idea, but this kind of immersive experience should be the norm, not the exception. “Data” doesn’t exist solely in the digital realm; some data needs to be touched, felt, and experienced rather than analyzed via flow charts”. There are just some customer experiences that no amount of digital data will ever help a brand understand. And I guess this is why JetBlue’s approach to improving their brand by approaching and speaking to their passengers at the airport was so refreshing. I’ve never flown JetBlue before but now, if I’m ever to book a flight, I will put them at the top of my list for consideration.
However, while this idea of immersive/personal engagement is not right for every brand due to the expense of moving team members to different cities but that doesn’t mean that the concept can’t be used on a smaller scale. Companies don’t have to leave the country in order to walk through a first-hand experience of becoming/being a customer. I’m sure if more companies conducted business this way they would be shocked or maybe pleasantly surprised by what they find but either way the take-away will be invaluable.
The Communications Practice Program and articles such as this have made me realize that it is the personal side of communications that drove me to this field. I’ve never been drawn to data but it does have a place in this business; the key to using the data is seeing the bigger picture- the human element.
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