do your prospects and customers suffer from an identity crisis · 2019-05-13 · no marketer...

Do Your Prospects and Customers Suffer from an Identity Crisis

Short Answer: Yes, but it’s your business that’s suffering. Here’s what to do about it.

The Identity Crisis that Inhibits Marketing Qualification and Personalization

The inbound leads that drive the growth of your company – the lifeblood that keeps your business moving forward – have an identity crisis.

Quite simply, most of the time YOU DON’T KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

The identity of these incoming prospects is defined by the data they give you — often just a single piece of information like a phone number or email — and whatever other data you have for them. Inevitably, some of that data is wrong, incomplete, or out of date.

It doesn’t affect all your leads and inquiries, but it certainly affects many of them, and probably more than you think. But you don’t know how many, or which ones.

The issues from this incomplete or incorrect data play out in three different fails:

• You think they’re someone they’re not. Your leads are not who they claim to be, or who you think they are. Or they’re not as well qualified as you think.

• You can’t reach them. You don’t have accurate or complete contact information, or the information you do have applies to a channel they don’t regularly use.

• You think they want something they don’t. Your leads have different interests and needs than you think they do.

All these challenges are multiplied the longer you continue to use static information to target and segment prospects and custom-ers — including those that start out with accurate data — be-cause within a few months the information you count on can be out of date in crucial ways.

eBook | Do Your Prospects Suffer from an Identity Crisis 2

How Your Identity Crisis Hurts Your Conversions and Your Brand

The identity crises affecting your incoming prospects can seem like abstract data issues, something for your IT team.

But these crises have real and serious consequences for your brand and your business. They result in misidentified consumers receiving (or not receiving) misguided marketing, corrupting the pipeline you rely on for brand health and profitable growth.

When you get their identity wrong

• You market to the wrong person. So much for your investment in targeted, one-to-one marketing. You may also have to deal with privacy implications.

• You can’t properly qualify them, so you either waste marketing resources on unqualified opportunities, or toss out potentially qualified consumers.

• Or you can’t reach them at all, because your contact informa-tion is incomplete, wrong or outdated.

• Worse, your business can be exposed to significant consumer fraud.

When you get their needs wrong

• You waste marketing resources by sending outbound offers that don’t match a consumer’s needs or interests, and squander marketing opportunities with similarly mismatched inbound of-fers.

• Worse, you risk alienating them, thereby losing any prospect of their becoming a customer.

• If they have become a customer, you put them at heightened risk of defecting, increasing churn and minimizing customer life-time value.

None of these outcomes have any upside; every one is a black mark on your sales and your brand.


The Costs of Your Unsolved Identity Crises

The multiple identity crises that are corroding the value of your leads and incoming inquiries may be more or less invisible, but their consequences are very real.

For example: You can’t easily see the opportunity cost of poten-tially valuable prospects that have to be discarded because of unusable or inaccurate identity data — or those you retain but are unable to reach.

You can’t readily quantify the increases in customer acquisition costs that result from marketing to consumers who are either unqualified or unlikely to convert. Or who receive offers that don’t appeal to them, about products or services that aren’t rele-vant to their needs.

And it’s almost impossible to calculate the losses to your busi-ness represented by the lifetime value of customers you didn’t convert.

But these costs are real — reducing the growth potential of your business and limiting your profitability.


SOLVING 5 COMMON PROBLEMS TO IMPROVE YOUR IDENTITY CRISIS

1. Incorrect or Inaccurate Consumer Identifiers

The most fundamental attribute of your incoming inquiries and leads is their identity — and there are a multitude of reasons yours could be wrong.

First, consumers don’t always provide correct information about themselves. They may skip certain sections of an online form — or simply mis-type a field or two. A surprisingly high num-ber include deliberately inaccurate or incomplete information due to privacy concerns. Or they may provide misleading infor-mation based on fraudulent intentions.

Second, it’s increasingly difficult for marketers to accu-rately identify many consumers, even when they start out with correct basic information. Today most individuals have at least two email addresses, if not more; and multiple phone num-bers, including conventional landlines as well as mobile and VoIP numbers. They access the Inter-net from multiple devices and multiple locations.

This growing number of identifiers has added significant complex-ity to the tasks of successfully resolving a consumer’s identity and establishing a reliable channel to reach them.

False Identifiers● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Inaccurate Identities

Consumers who provide inten-tionally incorrect information, including address, DOB, email

(Marketing Week)

Incomplete Identities

Percentage of contact forms which are abandoned without

being completed(Marketing Charts)

60% 99%

Multiple Identifiers● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

4Connected Devices

(IAB)

19Cookies

(IAB)

3+Email Addresses

(IAB)


● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● YOUR SOLUTION ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

APPEND VERIFIED IDENTIFICATION DATA● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

On-demand access to authoritative, comprehensive consumer data that can append verified identification data to fill out in-complete identities, resolve multiple ambiguous identifiers into accurate identities, correct inaccurate information, and suppress duplications.


2. Reaching Consumers Who ‘s Data is 3 Months Old

You may think you’re done with crises once you’ve resolved the identity of an ambiguous prospect. But the challenge of maintain-ing their value and utility isn’t over.

It’s not just the complexity of multiple identifiers and contact channels that compromises the value of your incoming inquiries and leads. It’s also the velocity with which their identity data can change.

Consumers move to new physical locations. While most don’t move often, the younger, more mobile and (for many marketers) more desirable consumers move with considerable frequency — and if they have a landline their number will change. New mo-bile phones and churn among mobile and VoIP providers mean changes to those numbers as well.

Other channels are subject to more frequent and volatile change. Email addresses can be added or changed at will; many con-sumers make it a regular practice to change their email address. Preferences in social media platforms evolve and change, as do communication preferences among the proliferating omnichan-nel options available to consumers.

In fact, a staggeringly high percentage of CRM data is out-dated or otherwise compromised — including all those prom-ising prospects you’re marketing to.

30%

Here's Why:● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

1in9U.S. consumers move every year

(U.S. Census)

1in326-year-olds

move every year(U.S. Census)

1in3changes email

address every year (Accenture)

30% of CRM datais incomplete,inaccurate,or outdatedat any given time(Infutor Identity Graph 2017)


● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● YOUR SOLUTION ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

MULTI-CHANNEL VERIFICATION● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

On-demand access to authoritative, comprehensive consumer data across multiple channels — physical and email addresses, phones, IP and device IDs — that enables you to continuously verify and update existing leads.


3. Mislabeling Qualified and Unqualified Leads

No marketer wittingly spends resources chasing consumers who aren’t interesting in their products or services, or can’t afford to buy them. And with the costs of acquiring new customers con-tinuing to rise, it’s become more important than ever to accu-rately qualify new leads.

As noted earlier, up to 60% of consumers admit to providing marketers with inaccurate or deliberately misleading information. Even more fail to complete online forms, leaving critical qualifica-tion information missing.

This inaccurate and incomplete data adds up. If it remains uncorrected, it almost guarantees poor results from your lead qualification process.

Some individuals who are actually qualified customers with po-tentially high lifetime values will be left out. Others who are not qualified will proceed into your marketing stream — and receive marketing at your expense that will never earn a response, let alone a sale. Both results cost your business money, and drag down your marketing results.

As bad as it is, this outcome doesn’t even include the more destructive effects of those consumers who deliberately provide misleading information with fraudulent intent.

The Costs of Unqualified● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Unqualified leads cost your business time and effort – and deliver much lower returns.

Conversion rate for Qualified Leads

(RealtorMag)

Conversion rate for Unqualified Leads

(RealtorMag)

VS20% 6%


● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● YOUR SOLUTION ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

DETAILED DEMOGRAPHIC ANDPSYCHOGRAPHIC DATA ATTRIBUTES

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

On-demand access to rich and authoritative consumer attribute data, including detailed demographic and psychographic data, purchase behavior and preferences, and additional attribute data, all correctly interlinked with identity data that allows you to verify interests and accurately segment consumers to provide the most relevant engagements and offers.


4. Lack of Insight Into Consumers’ Needs and Interests — Across All Channels

Consumers have come to expect lead generators to know who they are, what they’re interested in, and even the price points they’re seeking.

In the case of your leads, many of them have specifically raised their hand and invited you to address their needs. As a result, they come to you with an even stronger assumption that you will provide per-sonalized experiences that meet or exceed their expectations.

Even if your leads are accurate — even if you’ve filled in the omis-sions and corrected the errors to accurately identify them, con-firm that you can reach them, and qualify them for your products or services — you still have to deliver the relevant, individualized marketing they expect.

That requires gaining enough insight into their needs, in-terests, preferences and buying behaviors to address them as if you know them.

Moreover, they expect that kind of informed, personal attention regardless of how they come to your business. They may click through to your website from an email you sent. They might read your email or direct mail at home, visit your website to-morrow from work and initiate a chat. They may call your contact center, or send you a direct email. They may read your message on their mobile device, or download your app, or come to a brick-and-mortar location.

Rising Consumer Expectations● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

63% of consumers think more positively of a brand that gives them valuable,

interesting or relevant content (Rapt Media)

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

74% of consumers feel frustrated when website content is not personalized to them (Infosys)

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

78% of consumers will only engage offers if they have been personalized

to previous engagements (Marketo)

63%

74%

78%


● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● YOUR SOLUTION ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

LINKING ONLINE AND OFFLINE DATA● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Authoritative, accurate online and offline identity data, available on-demand, to enable you to connect the dots of consumer jour-neys across channels in near real time; fully and accurately inter-linked with rich online and offline attribute and behavioral data.


5. Reaching Consumers Who’s Data is 6 Months Old

You’ve slotted your correctly identified prospect into your per-sonalized lead nurture program, based on substantial insights into their needs and behavior. Now you simply wait for them to convert.

But don’t get too comfortable.

As time moves on, so does the likelihood that the needs and interests of your prospects have moved on as well — in ways large and small. They get married or divorced, and their interests change with their new situation. They move to a new home, or a new city, and need new furniture. They start a family, and begin buying in completely different categories, with completely differ-ent priorities.

As your prospects and customers alike move forward in their life journeys, the messaging that was keyed to their interests no lon-ger resonates with them. The offers that were designed to catch their attention and imagination don’t. Even the products or ser-vices that were matched to their profile may no longer be useful or important to them.

What’s more, simply losing one potential sale isn’t the worse con-sequence of this mis-matched marketing to aging leads. The misperceptions you create can do lasting damage to your brand’s prospects of ever converting them into a customer.

Velocity of Change● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

More than 4 million people marry every year in the U.S.

(CDC)

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

More than 1.6 million get divorced every year in the U.S. (CDC)

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Almost 4 million children are born every year

(CDC)

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●


● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● YOUR SOLUTION ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

DATA SEGMENTATION STRATEGY● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

A strategy to enable re-segmenting of your leads on an on-go-ing basis, ensuring relevant, meaningful engagement based on changing needs, powered by on-demand access to authoritative attribute and behavioral data, accurately inter-linked with identity data, to update your records.


Avoiding an Identity Crisis

Fortunately, you can solve all these identity crises with a trusted, capable data partner. Let your partner deliver the authoritative identity and attribute data that will validate, complete and amplify your existing lead data. The ideal partner will make it simple to integrate their data with your lead acquisition and qualification process in a seam-less, end-to-end solution.

The returns you receive through consistently higher numbers of usable, qualified leads and more relevant and effective acquisi-tion marketing will generate a positive ROI, as well as long-term benefits to your brand.


WHY RUF?

For decades, Ruf Strategic Solutions, an Infutor company, has been helping results-oriented marketers achieve their goals with market-ing analytics and segmentation solutions that improve consumer en-gagement, drive conversions and maximize marketing ROI.

Ruf and Infutor create a comprehensive solution, integrating founda-tional consumer identity and attribute data with a powerful analytics platform to give brands a complete suite of identities, attributes and consumer intelligence in one place. The firms’ combined expertise and passion for client success continues to empower brands with essential, actionable and measurable marketing intelligence.

(800) 829-8544ruf.com

1533 E Spruce Street, Olathe, KS 66061

do your prospects and customers suffer from an identity crisis · 2019-05-13 · no marketer...

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