Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Survey Reveals Consumer Digital Marketing Preferences Across Industries
London, UK (PRWEB UK) 30 July 2013 -- A new survey released today by Lyris, Inc, a global provider of digital marketing solutions, and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), shows differences in digital marketing strategies and consumer preferences across industries. The survey also indicates what consumers want from brands in different industries and what is influencing their purchasing decisions. The EIU industry survey executive summary can be viewed here http://www.lyris.com/EIU.
Key Findings:
Travel: Email Ranks Highest for Initial Product Introduction
• For initial purchasing decision for travelers, email ranks the highest channel of influence (37%).
• Cultivating influencers is a leading marketing objective (20%), likely due to personal referrals among travelers, which has the largest influence at final assessment (31%).
• Strategies have shifted from disseminating messages across multiple touch points (reduced from 32.5% to 15%) toward conducting deep analysis of consumer data (from 17.5% to 30%); 87% deem data analysis very important or moderately important.
• Marketing executives cite repeat purchases and value of the transaction as moderately or very important (85%). Not surprising, given 77% of consumers seek travel price comparisons.
Clothing Retailers: Consumers Want a More Tailored Shopping Experience
• 66% of consumers say that many personalised messages are annoying because “attempts at personalisation are superficial.”
• 71% of consumers said they receive so many messages that use of their name no longer makes a difference. However, when they receive a message that includes details of previous transactions or other personal details, 25% say they take it more seriously.
• 75% of consumers seek information about pricing/promotions through branded digital channels over third party sites; not surprising, considering the clothing retail market is very price driven.
• Expanding/diversifying the customer base has grown in priority to 33% compared to 24% five years ago.
Banking: Big Focus on Customer Retention
• As banks try to regain trust, customer retention is now cited as the top marketing goal (42%), a significant jump from 23% five years ago (and much higher than the all industry average of 28%).
• 6% of consumers prefer to engage with banking brands using mobile apps, which is double the all-industry average, yet investment is less than in other industries.
• Banking lags behind other industries in moving beyond personalisation to individualised offers, with difficulty interpreting Big Data cited as the biggest obstacle (44%).
Automotive: Among Top Users of Consumer Data Analytics
• Automotive is the most advanced industry in integrating different sources of data and in predictive analytics.
• Among automotive executives there is an increased emphasis on individualised offers (up from 13% five years ago to 50% today - 10% higher than all-industry average which is 40%), most likely as a result of the high value of the purchase.
• Social media/blogs rank second highest after websites and personal referrals for purchase influence; automotive is also the most invested in branded social media, with 45% of respondents citing a 25% investment of their budget.
Entertainment: Trailing Other Industries in Digital Marketing Investment
• Online channels are seen as the most important, yet surprisingly executives are investing very little in branded social media pages (56% invest only 1-10% of their budgets) and similarly for mobile (66% invest only 1-10% of their marketing budgets).
• Marketing executives in entertainment have increased their focus on retaining customers and investing more in deep analysis of consumer data (from 20% five years ago to 27% today) and, subsequently, marketers are also presenting more individualised offers (cited by 46% of executives, up from 26% five years ago).
Media: Takes Shotgun Approach to Awareness with Reduced Investment in Consumer Analysis
• 45% list the ability to use data analysis to extract predictive findings as a key marketing skill. However, the importance of conducting deep analysis of consumer data has fallen by 7% over the last five years.
• Email (28%) is the second preferred method for consumers to engage with brands in the media industry, subsequently, 12% of marketing executives spend 76-100% of their budgets on email.
• 74% of media marketing executives say online channels have gained importance for building brand awareness, which could explain why disseminating messages across multiple touch points is their most important marketing strategy (38% today, compared to 21% five years ago).
Sharmee Mavadia, +44 7904732273, [email protected]
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