Meghann York said every year, some marketing program will declare email is dead.
Yet York, senior director of product marketing for Salesforce, said email still is a key marketing tool.
“So the challenge is not how to do we replace our email program, it’s how do we keep up our email program and add all the other channels the customers expect,” York said as she addressed the State of Marketing at the OneZone Nov. 14 at the Forum Conference and Events Center in Fishers. “It’s a challenge and also an opportunity. All those different channels, from visual advertising to mobile apps to social advertising. All of those are opportunities to get data points from your customers, find out what their interests are and what their preferences are. You can turn to that the next time they interact with you. It’s a more personalized opportunity.”
York said it’s important that advertising, mobile and email teams communicate on strategy to understand customer expectations.
“To make sure we are putting the customer at the center of everything we do and moving forward like that,” York said.
York said marketing should be based on customers and customers’ expectations.
“Our high-performing groups work with service to drive that customer experience,” York said. “It comes back to sharing goals. Everyone wants to be on a winning team, so making sure you are on the same page about that (is important), getting outside your marketing department and working with sales people to find out what they need.”
York said being aligned with the service department is important, too.
“Are you using your social channels to influence the service areas?” York said. “The high-performing marketing programs are the ones operating on those shared goals.”
York said the research broke the groups into high performers, moderate performers and under performers.
“In our personal lives all of us are consumers,” York said. “Groups like Amazon, Facebook and Spotify are giving us the information when we want it. The bad news for us in business is all our consumers are going to expect that interaction delivered, no matter what brand they are interacting with. Our research is showing if that experience is not consistent every time and it’s not personal that customers are more finicky than ever and they will switch brands.”
York said the high-performing marketers are making those changes in their business.
“They believe they will win on customer experience,” York said. “They are leaning on that customer journey strategies to really deliver that.”
