Can You See All 6 Sides of Your Customers? To drive the best possible results for your digital marketing programs, you need to understand the consumer just as thoroughly as the channels and devices they use. Reprinted from iMedia Connection, this fast and easy read outlines Conversant’s perspective on what’s essential for a comprehensive understanding of the consumer - the six different types of user data that can drive better consumer persuasion and purchase. Put in the "me" terms of the individual, brands need to understand: What I Buy Who I Am What I Care About How I Connect What I Share My Brand Relationship Download this compelling perspective now so you can develop smart and savvy digital marketing strategies that deliver extraordinary results.

1. Jim Nichols
Originally published June 5, 2014
Can You See All 6 Sides
of Your Customers?

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION
SIDE ONE: DEMOGRAPHICS AND LIFESTYLE
SIDE TWO: PASSIONS AND INTERESTS
SIDE THREE: DEVICE USAGE
SIDE FOUR: SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS
SIDE FIVE: BRAND RELATIONSHIPS
SIDE SIX: ACTUAL PURCHASE DATA
CONCLUSIONS
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3. Are we all hexagons under the skin? No, I am not talking about some sort of new
geometric philosophy. Nor am I making a mock profound assessment of the
human condition. Rather, I want to spark a discussion about the consumer data
that matters to developing rich, genuine customer understanding – powerful
insights to drive the best possible program results.
A person is a lot more than a gaping maw relentlessly focused on CONSUME
CONSUME CONSUME and/or making a rational and detailed assessment of the
options in your category. Yes, Virginia, people are complex and their motivations,
needs and actions emanate from a complex set of mindspaces. Analysis of a variety
of successful digital and integrated campaigns shows us that comprehensive
customer insight comes from six different types of data – a range of information
types that, in aggregate, reveals the six sides of the customer that drive persuasion:
Let’s consider each of these data types and what they reveal about your customer.
To unlock the best possible
results for your next digital
marketing program, you need
six kinds of data about your
customers and prospects.
Take a few moments to find
out what they are and
how to get them.
INTRODUCTION
• Demographics & Lifestyle
• Passions and Interests
• Device Usage
• Social Interactions
• Brand Relationships
• Past Purchase Data
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4. 1: DEMOGRAPHICS
AND LIFESTYLE
Most products and services companies have a demographic skew in their audience bases. In addition,
many brands have recognized that there’s value in getting far more granular in their demographically based
segmentation. Consider a popular target like Moms 18-54. Take a look at the two photos below, and then
imagine how different the perspectives and lifestyles of these two mothers might be.
Yes, looks can deceive, but they can also be revealing. This is why more and more brands are pursuing granular
demographic segmentation and personalized media to better deliver relevant messages to prospects.
Traditionally, digital media have used a great deal of inference to identify demographics and lifestyle.
Many audience definition models use browsing and other habits as a proxy for known facts about a
person. The quality of those inferences is based upon the amount of data analyzed, the quality of that
data, and the standards with which we make inferences.
Inference isn’t inherently bad, but more and more brands are seeking better, more verified forms of demographic
and lifestyle information to drive better audiences for their programs. Those focusing on personalized media are
also looking to data sources that use known facts versus inferences. Working with Nielsen and comScore, my
company has compared inferred audiences against verified, offline-derived demographics. The results found big
gaps in the accuracy of inference. Inference, after all, is simply educated guesswork.
But the essential value of demographic and lifestyle data is well established, and a combination of verified
demographics and rich digital behavior provide an excellent – and often essential – foundation.
More and more brands are pursuing
granular demographic segmentation
and personalized media to better deliver
relevant messages to prospects.
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5. Digital has long leveraged browsing and interaction data to
unlock insights about a person’s passions and interests. From
browsing reviews of crossover SUVs to spending hours on recipe
sites, what people choose to do online helps us identify the
right people for targeting. Passions also help us determine more
compelling messaging for individuals and segments. For example:
do a person’s behaviors indicate that they respond better to the
perceived prestige of a brand, or evidence of its quality? Family-
centered messaging, or ads that are all about me me me?
In addition, it’s important to read signals that indicate depth of
passion. Knowing that someone looked at 10 pages of sports
content in a month is less valuable than knowing that they have
watched three hours of UFC video in the same period. The latter
shows a greater time commitment and a clear and deliberate
choice to consume large amounts of such content.
Interest data can
help us segment or
personalize messaging
to individual interests.
For a pickup truck
manufacturer, reaching
people who have a
passion for monster
truck sporting content
may be preferable to
avid consumption of equestrian dressage videos. Better
still might be an approach that speaks one way to the first
group, and highlights the horse trailer towing power to the
second. In short, uncovering a person’s passions helps us
deliver far more compelling communications.
2: PASSIONS
AND INTERESTS
From browsing reviews of
crossover SUVs to spending
hours on recipe sites, what
people choose to do online
helps us identify the right
people for targeting.
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6. People spend a lot of time in social environments
– this is true across demos and devices. According
to GlobalWebIndex, people spend two hours per
day – about 27 percent of Internet time – on social.
Other data sources show similar percentages.
That’s too big a block of time to ignore, which
is why many solutions providers now offer social
advertising solutions that leverage first-party,
third-party and/or social network audience data to
extend digital programs.
Now, not all social time is relevant to your category or
product. In fact, much of it probably isn’t. But some
may well be, and given
that it represents more
than a quarter of the
average person’s digital
time – and even more
for younger, more urban
folks – you shouldn’t
ignore social.
4: SOCIAL MEDIA
INTERACTIONS
According to comScore, 60 percent of total digital
time is now spent on devices other than a PC.
Given this, we need to understand user behavior
across all device types in order to truly understand
their needs and passions. After all, if we see only
PC-based data, then we understand less than half
of what someone does online.
Real-time cross-device browsing, interaction,
shopping and purchase data help us create a
holistic view of how our target is spending their
time right now. That informs message timing. From
there, understanding the particular cross-device
behaviors of an individual (for personalized media)
or a group (in segmented marketing) helps us to
deliver the right mix of messages at the right places
on the right screens for maximum impact.
As we all know, connecting devices for either
data analytics or media delivery is tough stuff.
Methodology matters
a great deal. But
behavioral and device
usage data from PCs
AND smartphones
AND tablets is
becoming essential
to driving maximum
results for marketing
investments.
3: DEVICE
USAGE
60%
Percentage of digital
time now spent on
non-PC devices.
27%
Percentage of Internet
time spent on social
media websites.
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7. We’ve saved the biggie for last. There is no better way to predict future purchases than with
a comprehensive understanding of past purchases – both historical and recent transactions.
Real-time or recent data helps predict both need and stage in the decision process.
Historical data reveals seasonality, purchase cadence, and other insights that pinpoint
people who are most likely to buy in the immediate future.
First-party purchase data is an unparalleled resource for targeting and messaging. In addition,
companies with access to broad sets of purchase data in the same and related product categories
have a great advantage. Again, the keys are the quantity, quality and recency of purchase data.
6: ACTUAL
PURCHASE DATA
I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the big change in digital advertising over
the next two-to-three years is going to be the nearly ubiquitous use of
first-party “brand relationship” data to inform targeting and messaging.
Brands will embrace the idea of putting their big customer data to work
in all of their digital programs and campaigns.
Traditionally, it has been tough for agencies to convince clients to
share their first-party data for targeting – it can seem like a hassle and
requires the heavy participation of client IT teams. But that is changing
fast. Tag management has made it easier, and the value of first-party
brand data for targeting has proven massive.
Integrating site interaction data – available when a brand tags all of its pages
– is a great start because it helps reveal the preferences, interests, browsing
and even purchases that customers conduct online. Further, by using first-
party data and cookies, you can actually identify more of your customers
and hand raisers as they browse the web. When you rely on third-party
cookies, a high percentage of your users are hiding in plain sight because
you won’t know that they have a pre-existing relationship with your brand.
Data from other digital interactions can also enrich your insights – and
through them, your overall program effectiveness. In most categories,
80 percent or more of products are purchased offline. Offline brand
interaction data is very powerful for understanding and measuring the
offline impact of your online programs.
5: BRAND
RELATIONSHIPS
Companies with access to broad sets
of purchase data in the same and
related product categories have a
great advantage.
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8. CONCLUSIONS
You don’t need to understand all six sides of your consumer to get good results. Companies prove this every day with campaigns and ongoing
programs that drive good results. But while good results may have been good enough in the past, they are increasingly insufficient to achieve
today’s KPIs. Marketers need every potential tool in their arsenals to drive the best possible results.
As you think about the programs you are planning now, ask yourself whether you are leveraging all six types of data – and in the best ways possible. If you
are agency-side, one of the big opportunities may be in convincing your clients that putting all of their first-party data to work will yield great benefits.
It may not be easy to convince them, or to help them evangelize the need throughout their organizations, but the results will be worth it. In fact, putting that
first-party data to work may be the key to demonstrating the agency’s value today and in the future. After all, our industry is is only getting more competitive.
Content originally published by iMediaConnection on June 5, 2014.
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