“Intent is Redefining the Marketing Funnel: A New Formula for Growth”
Allan Thygesen President, Americas, Google / Kristin Lemkau CMO, JPMorgan Chase
Allan’s key points: Purchase funnel is broken: Most customer journeys don’t look like a funnel. Customer intent has redefined the funnel, has changed the way we see behavior. Customers want help, guidance to make purchase decisions. It can sometimes take months to make a decision, using online search and video (YouTube) functions. They may buy instore instead of online. So:
- Create a brand you can count on: Never miss an opportunity to be there for someone who expresses an intent for a product you have to offer.
- Focus on business outcomes (revenues, margins, profits) not traditional impressions, views, clicks or online conversions.
- Stop marketing to the “average”; there’s no such thing as an average customer.
- Automate everything.
- Privacy: Make sure the partners you work with hold the same high standards as you do.
AT: How are you evolving Chase marketing to drive growth?
KL: It starts with the data. Stop staring at the funnel. You have to have insight-based knowledge — information around someone’s life, their income, investments, mortgage. Customers want us to use it to have their back and improve their experience. Example: How can we use it to improve the underwriting process.
AT: How are you using data to meet the customer’s needs?
KL: We spend a lot on paid media, use data gathered between chase.com and Chase mobile, not just to see if customers prequalify, but use it to shift from a dumb display ad to an insight-based engagement based on data we know.
AT: What’s the biggest challenge of getting ahead of the customer?
KL: Becoming a technologist, change management. We hired a chief media officer to get consistent KPIs across campaigns. Brand awareness is not a KPI. No more brand studies. How we link the real business drivers: tying how we view customer level profitability and lifetime value with the media buy.
Editor’s Note: From Advertising Week, a discussion on the marketing funnel