1.7 seconds. That’s how long Facebook estimates a brand has to interact with a customer. Attention spans are in free-fall as consumers are bombarded by ads across the digital landscape. With precious little opportunity to make an impact, marketers need to make the most of every interaction to stand even the smallest chance of connecting. Although it may seem hopeless, there is a way to improve the odds: dynamic marketing.

Stat attack

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of dynamic marketing, let’s rewind a second. Have consumer attentions spans really dropped? Or is it an urban myth? Unfortunately, the stats suggest that today, goldfish have more concentration than we do, and levels are dropping year by year. Soon, if someone tells you you have the attention span of a gnat, it will be a compliment!

• A study by Microsoft found that the average human attention span had dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds in 2015.
• The average attention span of a goldfish is nine seconds.
• A separate 2016 study found that the human attention span is dropping year-on-year by up to 88%. That means the average attention span is likely to be even shorter today than it was in 2015.

Bear in mind that the average person now comes into contact with an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 ads per day. That’s a tremendous amount for our brains to assimilate – no wonder attention spans are on the wane.

What is dynamic marketing?

With attention spans so desperately low, today’s marketer needs a new weapon in their arsenal. Introducing dynamic marketing, a strategy that maximises customer data to create the most relevant, personalised content possible. By looking at a customer’s habits, past behaviour and preferences, you can tailor key elements of content, such as visuals, messaging and tone of voice, to their particular taste. With the most relevant ads possible, you stand the best chance of your marketing efforts hitting home and converting into a sale.

It’s all about creating the best possible customer experience – one that’s personal and bespoke. Think about it. What would you rather receive? An impersonal, generalised ad or one that speaks to your needs and interests and makes you feel understood? The most sophisticated dynamic marketing strategies can be shaped around metrics such as probability to churn, probability to convert, and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). But it’s when we look at the sales funnel that dynamic marketing really comes into its own.

Right content, right time

Using the same digital marketing for a potential lead and a customer who’s made a purchase just doesn’t make sense. They have completely different needs, expectations and priorities. With dynamic marketing, you can personalise your communications depending on where a customer is located within the sales funnel. As you can see from the diagram, it’s possible to create tailored content for every stage of the process:

But how does this model of dynamic marketing work in practice? Instead of sending the same, one-size-fits-all messages to all customers in the sales funnel, you could do the following. To appeal to potential customers at the top of the funnel, you could post explanatory ads about the brand and its USPs on social media. Meanwhile, mid-funnel customers who have clicked on products might be more receptive to an email about current promotions. For customers at the bottom of the funnel who’ve already made a purchase, you could offer discounts on future purchases or ask for feedback. Dynamic marketing looks at each customer’s position and behaviour and adapts content accordingly.

Four benefits of dynamic marketing

Dynamic marketing ensures that people get what they want – and that’s the holy grail. But that’s not the only reason you should consider it. Here are some other factors.

Performance-enhancing personalisation

Some 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from brands who approach them in more personal ways. With dynamic marketing, you can use the customer data you have to shape individual customer experiences so they’re personal, salient and based on past behaviour and preferences. Evolving technology means that personalisation is becoming the norm for more and more brands. Consumers don’t just prefer personalised communications, they expect them.

Driving results with data

Trends, market shifts, economic climate – there are all sorts of variables that can influence marketing strategy. But dynamic marketing relies on something more concrete: facts and figures about customer behaviour and sales. When content is rooted in the reality of consumers’ desires, habits and needs, it’s more likely to drive positive buying decisions. Good news for your bottom line! *Ker-ching*

The opportunity to automate

Dynamic marketing is the perfect candidate for automation. Today’s technology can analyse all your valuable customer data and use it to shape content in an instant. You’re then able to send out highly personalised messages to individuals at scale. Goodbye expensive, time-consuming manual processes. Hello better results and more time for your team to get on with more complex marketing tasks.

The ability to roll with change

You’ve lovingly crafted a long-term marketing strategy and put it into action. But what happens if something changes? Trends, economics, technology and many other factors can move the goalposts substantially. With dynamic marketing, you can constantly adapt your content in line with any changes in customer data. It’s flexible, versatile and responsive – the ideal way to future-proof.

How to get started with dynamic marketing

Dynamic marketing is continuous process rather than a one-off activity. It follows a Test > Learn > Optimise cycle, which starts with testing various media channels on a small scale to find out which are most effective. Once you have that information, it’s time to set KPIs, gather performance data and analyse it. With the insights you gain, you can refine and optimise, changing your poorest performing content and boosting the best. At this point, you can go further, updating keywords and SEO if necessary and using A/B tests to further improve performance. Keep testing, learning and optimising to minimise risk and improve content… and bingo: conversions a-go-go.

Ready to get the show on the road? Here’s a few pointers to kick off a successful operation and maximise your dynamic marketing acquisitions.

Work out what’s working

Look at your current marketing efforts. How are they measuring up to your KPIs? What’s working for you? Where could you improve? It’s worth liaising with Sales and Data to get the full picture. After all, a spot of Smarketing could be good for everyone.

Set your targets

Based on the information you’ve just collected, set your performance targets. Make sure they’re measurable, realistic and in line with your organisation’s broader goals.

Identify any challenges

What’s likely to prevent you reaching your targets? What can you do to overcome these challenges? Anticipate and plan for any potential spanners that might get stuck in the works.

Devise a strategy – but keep it flexible

It’s time to formulate your first dynamic marketing strategy, leaving plenty of room to flex. Work out what data you need to support your plan and how you will use it to personalise your content.

Set up measuring and modification strategies

How are you going to measure the success of your dynamic marketing strategy? And how will you modify content? Make sure you have plans in place for both tasks before you go any further. There are technology and digital tools available to help you on both fronts. You could also set up a regular review to monitor changes in data patterns or ask for customer feedback to gauge how well your dynamic marketing is landing.

Dynamic marketing is your key to capturing customers at key moments by standing out from the crowd. It makes the most of data to help your brand succeed in a digital landscape that’s ridiculously competitive. Ready to reach the right audience, with the right content, at the right time? Give us a shout and we’ll give you a hand.