MWL16 recap

I’ve spent some time over the last week reflecting on all of the things that I saw and heard whilst at Marketing Week Live 2016. Mainly to ensure that I’m following best practices and on top of current trends within marketing. I thought I’d share my thoughts, so here it is… MWL16 according to Alice!

Across the two days I was stationed at our stand enjoying conversation with passers-by. Most people were there looking for technology and solutions that would make their marketing more effective, whether that be email automation, promotional merchandise or data solutions. As I spoke with people across industries I saw two distinct groups of marketers. For the first group data is already an important part of their marketing strategy and now the prominent challenge is gaining further insight from it. The second group of marketers know that data is important but haven’t been able to set up the processes that ensure data quality. As a marketer myself I’m always looking for further insight that can drive my decision making, so I can understand the first group. I also know that in order to trust any insight the data quality must meet certain standards.

As I was walking around I caught snippets from a few of the talks being given in the Theatre’s. I’ll admit I did hear a number of ‘buzz’ words that are often talked about and not always explained. Things like, personalisation, insights, and data-driven marketing. As someone who both sends and receives marketing I can tell you that personalisation is great. But show too much knowledge with little engagement from your customer and it will likely have the opposite of the desired effect. This is where ‘insight’ comes into play. Using the knowledge of your customer and their behaviour to drive decisions. I know when a brand has taken the time to put me into one of their researched persona groups I feel more affinity with them because the messaging and timing is to my preference. Affinity equals loyalty and loyalty equals money, at least with me it does!

I think the prevailing message that came across in conversation and in the talks was how we as marketers can use data to improve customer experience, increase consumer trust and put the customer first.

Getting your data right from the beginning and ensuring the quality through campaigns, and with acquisition is key for trusting the insights given through analysis.

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*Image from MWL2106