Trust is a fundamental component to any successful relationship. Without it communication can break down and trigger a rise in bad feeling and perception. For any brand, being perceived poorly by their customer base – existing or potential – is a huge concern.
If you are a marketer running omnichannel campaigns, you will typically have access to an abundance of customer data. You may not necessarily be able to utilise all of these assets, depending on the systems you have in place, but chances are you will understand the things that will excite and delight your audience. These insights are as fundamental to delivering highly engaging campaigns as they are in protecting your brand’s image. If anything, the two are intrinsically linked. If you don’t understand your customer’s needs, they will become disengaged. Equally if you don’t have the right internal systems in place, you run the risk of sending out inaccurate or impersonal information.
The role of technology
As technologies have advanced and consumers’ appetite for personalised communications has intensified, the marketing environment has become incredibly complex. This has inadvertently created a greater need for technologies and systems which streamline marketing operations and the flow of data throughout the organisation. These technologies allow marketers to follow a consistent and repeatable approach to the development of promotional materials while keeping fingers on the data pulse.
The importance of trust
The ability to create materials that are clear, precise and as informative as they are relevant is critical to establishing consumer trust. If your messages are misleading, inaccurate or in breach of industry guidelines this trust will be lost, and is very difficult to regain. That said, delivering effective marketing campaigns not only requires valuable data, it also demands investment in technology which enhances your internal marketing activities alongside your data and campaign management tools.
Defining marketing resource management
Marketing Resource Management is critical to achieving this. Marketing Resource Management (MRM) is the term given to the alignment of people, processes and technology across a department or organisation with the primary purpose of supporting internal and external marketing activities, alongside improving marketing effectiveness. Without the appropriate systems in place, it is very difficult to scale up your activity. It also inhibits your ability to respond to critical moments in the customer lifecycle.
MRM helps each team fully understand the function and role everyone plays in the creation and execution of campaigns. In essence it serves as a foundation for any successful marketing department. It also helps break down silos and simplifies the flow of information through the business.
Standardising your operations
For any large organisation with a large marketing budget, standardising operations and activity should therefore be a top priority. Not only is it crucial in ensuring that you are continuously presenting your brand messages externally in the right way, it enables teams to have complete transparency and clear understanding of every aspect of a campaign.
Insight vs gut feeling
In the past, campaigns would be driven by gut feeling, rather than rational insight. However, as more and more data becomes available to marketers there is a greater opportunity and need to be far more strategic. Data is a key part in shaping that view, but you also need to understand the reasons behind why specific results were achieved. So the more procedures you invest in which give you greater clarity on previous successes, you can gain a better understanding of where best to deploy your future assets, especially when you combine it with your 1st and 3rd party data sets.
Greater clarity and focus
The other side of MRM is that it provides teams with a greater focus on what activity needs to be accelerated and which campaigns need to be adjusted in order to drive further engagement. In a time where budgets are tightening, heightening a need for greater precision, this clarity is increasing in value.
It’s not just about data
Data is without question essential to targeting consumers on a personal level, but without the necessary systems in place, it becomes very difficult to achieve this level of individualised communications. Whilst technology plays a vital role in binding teams together, no amount of technology can bring about effective or meaningful change. That requires a seismic shift in the way departments are run. As business grow, unless there are robust and clear systems in place, brands will find it harder to maintain a consistent brand image. MRM is the answer but businesses need to be ready for the change.