SAS: companies neglect customer targeting
Representative study by Forsa and SAS: 62 percent of respondents ignore them directed advertising, see 76 percent advertising too little oriented to their needs
Most consumers are advertising an open mind - if this appeals to their personal needs. Right here, companies still much catching up to do. In addition, they do not draw on the potential offered by the Internet for marketing and customer loyalty, by far. These and other findings of a representative study of the market research institute Forsa on convergence in the sales approach, which has been prepared on behalf of SAS, the world's largest software manufacturer.
Consumer related industries are still investing heavily in their advertising: out of a total of just over a thousand consumers surveyed in the study, almost one in three (31 percent) received advertising from a clothing company, 14 percent from a bank or savings bank, and 13 percent from a telecommunications company. Companies. This is followed by retail for consumer electronics (nine percent), energy providers (seven percent) and insurance companies (six percent). Nearly nine out of ten respondents actually open these commercials - but 51 percent do not read the open commercial. Eleven percent even dispose of them unopened. The reason: The clear majority of respondents (76 percent) believe that advertising is usually not tailored to their personal needs. By contrast, for example, 20 percent of bank and savings bank customers with Internet access would like to decide themselves which advertising they reach.
The companies therefore give away a huge potential and do not use the general openness, especially of young consumers, for advertising. After all, 37 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds would, for small financial benefits such as discounts, credit or delivery cost reimbursement give a company, they are a customer, a comprehensive advertising permission, such as the mobile phone or private email address.
The survey by forsa and SAS also highlights another important field of activity for companies: While consumers are increasingly coming to the Internet with information about products and services and exchanging views on social media and forums, there is an increasing willingness to deal directly with providers. Particularly in problem cases, an active approach by the companies concerned would meet with a high proportion of respondents to positive response: 81 percent of respondents find it right when companies by direct contact in the forum with questions and criticisms of their customers deal. However, the willingness to "get in touch" with company representatives also has limits: for example, the majority of respondents (74 percent) would not be prepared to add a company representative to their own contacts in the social network. After all, almost every fifth social media user (19 percent) would not have a problem with it.
"Marketing managers today are increasingly dependent on using their resources more efficiently and geared to customer needs," comments Wolf Lichtenstein, Managing Director of SAS Germany. "For this they need analytical competence along the entire value-added chain in marketing." For example, SAS Social Media Analytics analyzes interactions and discussions on the Web and helps companies to monitor and evaluate their customers' behavior and comments on the social web. In contrast, software solutions for integrated marketing management enable efficient control of all marketing processes - also in terms of corporate goals. "Companies can only win over the use of analytics software," adds Lichtenstein: "In the customer's interest - because he only receives the messages that actually interest him".
Source: Heidelberg [SAS]
