Consumer Behavior and Analysis Reflection Blog Post:
While reflecting on what I have learned in this month's Consumer Behavior and Analysis course, I found the information extremely useful when formulating my future digital marketing plan for Fouronetwo. This month's focus was on customer lifecycle marketing, which is defined as creating communications and engagements with the target audience, new and existing, through marketing strategies to attract them to products or services (Chaffey, 2024). Within the customer lifecycle, there were four components that we focused on that guided us through brand-to-customer relationships. These four components were Reach, Act, Convert, and Engage. Each week, our assignments focused on one of these four components, which helped me learn the importance of interacting with not all customers but a particular group. Being that Fouronetwo is an apparel shop, appealing to the right group will be the driving force behind a successful digital marketing plan.
RACE Model Reflection
Reach (Week 1)
Fouronetwo, a local apparel shop in Pittsburgh, PA, prides itself on hometown pride and celebrates Pittsburgh's culture. Though the celebration of Pittsburgh is appealing to some, it does not appeal to everyone. In the first week, we focused on reaching the correct audience. It was one of the most important weeks as it provided the foundation for whom Fouronetwo was created. In order to figure out Fouronetwo's target audience, we were instructed to create buyer personas for the brand. Buyer Personas are fictional characters representing the brand's target customer (Davey, 2023). Through research and knowledge of the brand's history, I was able to compile in-depth data to create the buyer persona, including demographics (for example, age range or income range), psychographics (for example, personal values or lifestyle), and behavior (for example purchase history) segmentations. By combining each segmentation, Fouronetwo achieved an overall view of the brand's buyer persona, creating a better focus point for its marketing strategy.
Act (Week 2)
While knowing your target audience is essential, getting them to interact with the brand is equally important. We covered the act stage in week two, and through our digital marketing strategies assignment, I created actionable strategies to engage with consumers. Some strategies I would implement in my final digital marketing plan for Fouronetwo would include social media marketing and influence marketing. Both of these strategies incorporate digital platform usage to engage with the audience. This week related much to last month's course on digital storytelling and branding, especially during the storytelling assignment of last month. In this assignment, we created a story for the brand to evoke an emotional connection. Using storytelling through social media or influence marketing to promote the brand allows the audience to connect emotionally with the brand. That emotional connection is important because it gives the customer something to relate to, which is memorable.
Convert (Week 3)
In week 3, our main focus was to convert the customers once we had them engaged with the brand. We learned the differences between behavioral (third-party cookie tracking) and contextual targeting (placing ads on sites based on site content) (Frenkiel, 2022). Both of these options would be helpful methods for data collection for Fouronetwo. One of these methods is more invasive than the next but they both give a business real-world customer data and are tools to help tailor Fouronetwo’s marketing strategy. Another practical assignment from week three was our research paper, in which we learned about AI and how to implement it properly into a marketing strategy. Though AI is a valuable tool, there are also still challenges associated with it. However, with some human editing, implementing AI is beneficial for Fouronetwo. Some of these benefits include analyzing large data sets quickly, virtual try-on options for online shoppers, and using 24/7 chatbots for customers with questions or concerns that need to be addressed immediately. This week was another important one, as getting the audience's attention is only half the battle; getting them to stay engaged and convert could make or break the business.
Engage (Week 4)
In our final week, we are learning about the engagement stage and implementing valuable tools to keep customers engaged even after converting. Through our survey assignment, we gave the customer a voice to provide feedback on Fouronetwo's overall product and customer experience after the purchase was made. Through our main project, we discussed user-generated content to get satisfied customers' points of view of the brand. These valuable insights from the customer allow Fouronetwo to change the digital marketing plan where needed and see what areas they are striving in. Both insights benefit the overall success of the digital marketing strategies implemented in the final digital marketing plan.
Wrap-Up
Throughout the month, the focus was on getting to know the customer more; through the RACE model, I could figure out precisely who Fouronetwo needed to market its products to. If there were one thing I would want to learn further within consumer behavior and analysis, it would be how behaviors affect consumer data based on holidays. When consumers purchase gifts for others, is the data different since they are not considered everyday consumers or even a part of the buyer persona?
References
Chaffey, D. (2024, February 8). What is customer lifecycle marketing? Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/web-personalisation/what-is-lifecycle-marketing/
Davey, L. (2023, November 29). What Is Buyer Persona? Definition and Guide. Shopify. https://www.shopify.com/blog/what-is-buyer-persona
Frenkiel, T. (2022, December 15). Behavioral vs. contextual targeting: the difference explained. Funnel. https://funnel.io/blog/behavioral-contextual-targeting?
