Black Friday, the coveted day retailers look forward to every year, is fast-approaching, and there is good reason to rejoice. According to the National Retail Federation, over 165 million Americans — more than half of the country — shopped either in stores or online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday in 2018. Its annual survey also cited that retailers’ investment in technology continued to pay off, as “more than 89 million people shopped both online and in stores, up nearly 40 percent from last year.” Moreover, “the multichannel shopper outspent the single-channel shopper by up to $93 on average.”
Looking ahead to this coming season, Americans are expected to spend about $60 billion during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend in 2019; that’s 13.7% of the total November forecasted sales for the month. So, it comes as no surprise that statistics show e-commerce marketers spend more around Black Friday than any other day of the year. But is that money well spent? The answer depends on the metrics of success and whether or not the numbers are telling the full story.
The Marketer’s Dilemma
Today’s marketer is data-driven. As such, marketing decision makers face a daily dilemma that can often add up to significant and unnecessary ad spends. For the past decade, I’ve been working with companies to fuel their growth through data-driven marketing. Having complete transparency into how your data is being collected and attributed across your connected devices in your campaigns is critical to how you measure your return on investment.
We are living in an era of rampant fraud throughout the mobile ecosystem. Compounding the problem of fraud are misleading key performance indicators and a lack of understanding about signal clarity — a critical dimension in media buying. All of these factors are imperative for marketers to have a clear, holistic view of their data across their media partners and campaigns.
Connecting The Data Dots
Effective marketing campaigns tie together data points across all customer touch points on connected devices. Far too often, the baseline data marketers are working with is bad. If you’re asking yourself what makes data “bad,” it’s like driving to a new store for one of those impossible Black Friday deals, but you get the wrong directions to the store — it’s misleading. For marketers, this can be a huge disaster. In 2016, IBM estimated (via Harvard Business Review) that bad data cost the U.S. upward of $3 trillion. As marketers, you rely on the quality of your data for every decision you make. Can you afford to not have a clear view of it?
Let’s consider how this becomes even more important around Black Friday, when purchasing power is at its peak. If the data you are being delivered on your target consumer is wrong, the millions of marketing dollars being spent could be flying out the window and landing on your competitor’s lap. In essence, you’re giving them an early holiday gift.
Harnessing The Power Of Data With The Feedback Loop
Let’s look at the new power couple: data and the customer feedback loop. In my experience, a feedback loop is an effective tool for changing behavior. The premise centers around providing consumers with information about their actions in real time, and then giving them an opportunity to change those actions.
Brands that create an effective feedback loop are the brands that win because they can see where their best consumers are and what products and services interest them most. That being said, the feedback loop must be tied to your data-driven marketing efforts. This unification creates a cause-and-effect solution for the greatest impact on their purchasing decisions.
There are four distinct stages to a feedback loop. In the first stage, consumer behaviors are measured, captured and stored. In the second, the information is relayed to the consumer in a way that resonates with them. The third stage is the consequence. The information that goes back to the consumer must light a path forward. And the final action is the “aha” moment where the consumer makes a choice and acts on it. Each action is measured, and every action stimulates new behaviors. All of this information helps marketers get closer to their goals.
Black Friday And Beyond
When preparing for this year’s Black Friday, know where your best consumers are coming from so you can plan campaigns that reach them wherever they are and influence their purchasing decisions.
Having complete transparency into your data-driven marketing efforts will help you stay in the black far beyond Black Friday. In the end, that’s what you should strive for: active, happy customers 365 days a year.
