Customised marketing replaces one-size-fits-all approach

Khyati Dharamsi

Would a fast food joint in Pune attract crowds from Nagpur? Likewise, it would be a colossal waste of money for a tattoo artist to advertise at a public park frequented by septuagenarians. And that, precisely, is the downfall of mass advertising. To get the best mileage out of ad spends, brands are now making sure they reach the right target audience. Enter, targeted marketing. In keeping with this emerging trend, social messaging service providers, e-commerce providers and marketing companies are doing considerable research on target audiences and the kind of products that interest them. Advertisements and offers relevant to the target audience are then sent to potential customers. Pull-Based Approach Ankur Kalra, CEO of Vibgyor Brand Services, which is involved in experiential marketing, says, "Mass marketing, where one size fits all, doesn’t work any more. Now customised solutions for various age groups are being used."
Spamming customers with irrelevant ads could sometimes backfire on a brand. "One must be careful about the advertisement and always ask, ‘is it relevant to the user?’ Instead of the push approach, targeted ads adopt a pull-based business approach," reveals Arjun Basu, co-founder of mydala.com. Which Platforms? Various companies have been using this targeted marketing methodology by sending out customised offerings via the Internet and mobile platforms. So, if you have visited a particular website in the past, through your IP address, the pages you visit are tracked and relevant ads are displayed on your screen the next time you open a website. Ingenious, isn’t it? The same applies to the mobile platform, where mobile messenger service provider We Chat displays an ad whenever one exits another messenger service application. Kalra’s company executes experiential marketing campaigns, where customers get a live, touchy-feely experience of the product and where digital feedback is later collected. "The campaign can target between 3,000 and 5,000 people or even 7 lakh people for a mass product," he says. Beerud Sheth, co-founder & CEO of GupShup Technologies, adds, "Opportunities in app advertising are exploding, and we have about 25,000 SMEs advertising on the GupShup platform." Also, mydala.com’s marketing arm, myBuzz, has been tracking customers and sending them relevant deals and offers for various merchant partners. Who Are The Consumers? But how exactly does one track the needs and interests of consumers? Sheth says, "There are various communities that are created on Gupshup and based on the needs of these communities, various products are promoted." Also, data-tracking and algorithms are being used to find out who would opt for what. Basu of mydala.com explains, "Through the use of WAP apps, we have created a seamless database, where we see data trends in terms of what they bought in the past, and where these users are travelling. We use different algorithms to finally decide to whom we should be promoting, say, a spa in Delhi." But is it possible to track everything a person has done? Basu explains, "The beauty of the mobile medium is that it offers IP tracking; it is mobile; there is GPS tracking, you can download an offer on your mobile; I know your location, age and gender; where you are travelling from; when you are on roaming; I know which city you are travelling to. Through this database, you can understand the user better." He claims myBuzz engages in data analytics on the 15 million users on the mydala platform in addition to 150 million users of their mobile partners. Reduced Acquisition Costs Customer acquisition costs are a core parameter in any advertising campaign. And, typically, brands using the mass advertising route waste large sums of money on this alone. For instance, a brand may spend as much as Rs 5,000 on flyers advertising its product or service but may end up attracting only five people who respond. "However, when you advertise to a qualified audience, your cost per lead generated comes down. The key is to send the ad to the right audience so that you don’t waste advertising budgets," reveals Sheth of GupShup Technologies. Some marketing service providers claim that targeted marketing and advertising campaigns have led to a significant rise in conversion rates. "Typically, conversion rates are 3-7 per cent and as much as 15 per cent on high-impulse items such as pizzas. Due to the high conversion rate, the cost per lead is reduced. The cost for leads by using the mobile or the Internet platforms is Rs 30-40, while it can be as high as Rs 400-500 or even Rs 1,000 through other channels, depending on the campaign. On the other hand, you have campaigns where the acquisition cost may be as low as Rs 10-20," Basu affirms. Offers Lure Customers Companies have been using offers to lure customers and achieve a higher conversion ratio. According to Seth of GupShup Technologies, "If an advertiser puts in an offer, the response rate goes up."
 
However, any and every offer will not do the trick. "Offers have to be customised for that particular audience. An American Express Frequent Flyer would not be pleased with a key chain or packet of wafers. The offer would have to be customised for him," Kalra points out. Learning From Mistakes As with everything in life, advertisers are learning from their mistakes. For instance, Sheth says, "We had a book seller whose offer mentioned the names of books and a Rs 500 discount. The deal flopped. The next time, he used the names of the authors and offered an 80-per cent discount, which was more effective." There was a time when e-commerce portals used to advertise early in the morning. But this didn’t work, recollects Sheth. "People simply do not respond early in the morning. When they started advertising between 11 am and 12 noon, people started noticing the offers," he adds. You can send your feedback on smementor@moneycontrol.com or simply post comments below