As we approach 2024, CMOs are gearing up for fresh challenges and opportunities. In the coming year, staying ahead requires not just adaptability but also strategic foresight. Here are five New Year’s resolutions for CMOs to ensure a successful and innovative year ahead.
1. Clean up your database
Did you know that marketing databases degrade by around 30% each year? Human error, limited resources, and inaccurate customer information can all result in a messy database. Poor-quality data poses a serious financial risk to your marketing, such as misguided targeting and fewer conversions.
In 2024, clean up your database by conducting a thorough audit, removing outdated or irrelevant information, and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. A clean database will improve your targeting accuracy in 2024, resulting in more effective campaigns.
2. Develop an all-party data strategy
Audience insights will be more difficult to achieve with stricter privacy regulations and the demise of third-party cookies. As a result, first-party data will be your most valuable asset in 2024, particularly when synergized with other data sources to enhance insights and personalization. To overcome data privacy obstacles in the coming year, CMOs should fully leverage their first-party data and combine it with additional data types such as zero, second, and third-party data as part of an all-party data strategy.
With an all-party data strategy, you can access the most comprehensive view of your target audience. Brands that embrace an all-party data strategy can more effectively refine their audience segments, deliver more personalized and targeted messages, and enhance overall customer satisfaction. By taking this holistic approach to data, marketers can also uncover hidden patterns and trends that might go unnoticed when relying on individual data sources.
[eBook] 1st Party Data Best Practices
3. Leverage custom blended audiences to refine segmentation strategies
According to McKinsey & Company, 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen. To achieve this level of personalization, CMOs need to be more creative in their audience segmentation strategies to account for intent and behavioral and psychological motivators.
CMOs can achieve this by using more sophisticated techniques to blend audience data into finely tuned segments to be able to take personalization to the next level. A custom blended audience incorporates various elements from demographic, psychographic, in-market, behavioral, and trigger data to create distinct segments, resulting in more precisely targeted campaigns.
4. Revive direct mail
The tangible and personalized nature of physical mail can create a lasting impression on consumers. While direct mail might seem like a relic of the past, it’s still generating impactful results for brands in several industries. According to a report by Lob, combining direct mail with digital channels can be a powerful strategy to create a cohesive, multichannel approach that includes online and offline campaigns. The report shows that direct mail has a 13x higher response rate than email on its own, but when combined the response rates reach 27%.
By incorporating personalized URLs (PURLs) or QR codes in direct mail pieces, recipients can easily transition from physical to digital channels, enabling businesses to track and analyze user interactions online. This concerted effort between direct mail and digital platforms allows for targeted follow-up emails, retargeting ads, and a more cohesive multichannel approach, maximizing the impact of your campaigns and fostering a stronger connection with your audience. With the right targeting and creative approach, direct mail can complement digital efforts, providing a unique touchpoint in a cluttered digital landscape.
5. Test a CTV advertising strategy
As the way people consume content evolves, so should advertising strategies. In 2022, 4.9 million people cut the cord on cable in favor of streaming services and the number of cord cutters continues to rise each year. This cord-cutting phenomenon has resulted in connected TV (CTV) becoming a dominant force in the digital landscape, offering a unique opportunity for CMOs to reach audiences on various streaming platforms.
Through CTV advertising, ads are displayed to users as they consume video content on their smart or connected TVs. Unlike linear TV, CTV offers robust targeting options including demographic, geographic, behavioral, contextual, first-party, second-party, third-party, weather, and social media data. With the right approach, CTV can be a powerful channel to connect with your audience in a more immersive and impactful way.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the fast-paced nature of the marketing world requires CMOs to be agile and forward-thinking. By prioritizing data cleanliness, embracing ethical data practices, personalizing campaigns, incorporating traditional channels like direct mail, and exploring emerging platforms like CTV, CMOs can set the stage for a successful and innovative year ahead. Cheers to a year of strategic growth and meaningful connections!
Audience and Marketing Solutions for 2024
Ready to get more out of your marketing in 2024? Our team is here to help you tackle your marketing New Year’s resolutions. With a deep history and expertise in first-party data management and audience creation, we deliver highly personalized, multichannel campaigns that help brands like yours acquire and retain customers. Get started today!
