Marketing automation is hot right now, it has seen the fastest growth of any CRM-related segment in the last several years (Focus Research). And you know what? Marketing Automation has a little known cousin, localized marketing automation (LMA), that is even hotter. If you need a refresher on what LMA is read this. Go ahead, I’ll wait… Yay you’re back. It’s good to know how we got here so let’s look back in time for a bit.
Before The Days of Localized Marketing Automation
For ages, all marketing was inherently local due to the constraints of travel and communication. Back in the day, before radio, TV and the internet, if you wanted to sell something you stamped it with your brand/logo and relied on reputation, relationships, and word of mouth to sell more of the good.
In the late 1990’s when the general public started using the internet, companies gained the ability to send communications to people who would have been unreachable in other eras. We moved from local to global. Unfortunately, this type of communication resulted in a lot of generic marketing, which people hated.
With internet usage in full swing, word of mouth went into hyper drive as consumers could now share information about companies and products much more easily. This also resulted in a shift in brand perception, the control passed from the producer to the consumer.
Mass Messages Are So 1999…
Stay in the 90’s with me for a bit longer (don’t fight the nostalgia). Imagine for a second that there’s a retired man named Harry who loves fishing and lives in Key West, FL. Harry has bought his fishing gear from the same sporting goods store for a decade and somehow ended up on their email list (typical).
This company manufactures more than just fishing gear, they make all kinds of outdoor gear and they sell their products all over the world. The problem with 1999 and with mass messaging, is that when Black Friday comes around and corporate wants to sell more snow skis Harry receives an email like this.
Now, Harry uses email just as any retired man in 1999 would. It’s a great way to catch up with his family, see pictures of his grand kids and of course, share the occasional cat photo. He doesn’t need to hear from this brand, so how do you think a skiing email makes him feel? Likely a bit confused and disappointed that the company seems to only want his money.
Mass messages in all forms jeopardize the relationship companies have with their customers. The thing the companies must remember is that Harry is a single customer in a specific location and he wants to be treated that way. When communicating with him every message should be personalization and tailored to his preferences, it’s the key to building a trusting relationship with him.
Unleashing the Power of Personalization
Welcome back to 2014. Unfortunately, that same 1999 spray and pray mentality still lives on in corporate marketing departments across the world. Everyday messages are sent to consumers with no regard for their needs, preferences or demographics. What has changed though, is the technology available to those companies. 2014 is a place of magic and wonder, where companies can have the global reach they need to stay competitive and can provide the localization and personalization consumers demand.
With localized marketing automation, Harry’s favorite store in Key West is able to send out communications a Black Friday coupon that looks like this instead.
By using past purchase customer data they could send Harry an email that is relevant to his interests and includes pictures and copy that appeal to him. This solidifies his trust in their brand and increases the chances that he will take action on during the sale or sometime in the future. Companies are able to get back to relationship based marketing tactics that worked so well long ago.
This is only one case showing how localized marketing automation can help personalize interactions with customers, creating greater trust in the brand, and increasing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Yet, let’s be honest, there’s much more to LMA software than personalizing an email. To learn about all the other magic and wonder it has to offer check out the rest of our site.