Enhancing Customer Journeys Using Marketing Automation in FMCD

Enhancing customer experience has become pivotal in today’s competitive market. Personalization stands as a cornerstone for engaging consumers effectively. However, achieving the level of personalization that modern consumers expect requires a deeper understanding of customer journeys. In an era where customer data is scattered across diverse platforms, bridging these insights manually for a comprehensive picture is impossible for brands, especially for Fast Moving Consumer Durables (FMCD) brands.

In this blog, we delve into the crucial integration of customer journey mapping and marketing automation in FMCD.

Why use customer journey and marketing automation together?

Utilizing customer journey mapping and marketing automation in Fast Moving Consumer Durables (FMCD), such as household appliances and electronic gadgets, can significantly impact the performance of marketing campaigns. Here’s how:

1. Consistent Messaging Across Channels

Customer journey mapping allows the understanding of various touch points customers encounter while interacting with FMCD products.

Maintaining consistent messaging involves ensuring that the information about a new product’s features, benefits, and promotions is the same across the brand’s website, social media platforms, and email communications. This consistency builds trust and familiarity, reinforcing the brand’s image and the value of its offerings in the customer’s mind.

Here’s an example of how Samsung promotes its Smart TV on its website and social media:

2. Driving Customers Deeper into the Funnel

Marketing automation, when aligned with the customer journey, can guide customers through various stages of the purchasing funnel.

In the FMCD sector, this could mean providing detailed product information, comparison guides, or personalized recommendations to move customers closer to the final purchase decision.

For instance, a customer interested in buying a cutting machine can receive an automated email helping them compare the options available to them.

3. Enhanced Engagement and Lead Nurturing

Marketing automation, when integrated with the customer journey, enhances engagement by delivering timely, relevant, and personalized content. In the FMCD sector, this could involve sending how-to-use guides, product maintenance tips, or follow-up messages by email, SMS, or push notifications to check customer satisfaction post-purchase. By providing valuable and personalized content, brands keep customers engaged, fostering a deeper connection and loyalty.

Here’s an email that Canon sends to customers who have purchased their printers, combining it with seasonal campaigns:

4. Higher Customer Lifetime Value

Customer journey mapping combined with marketing automation allows FMCD companies to understand their customers’ needs and preferences better.

Satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, refer others, and invest in higher-priced products or services, thus increasing the customer’s lifetime value. Studies have found that returning customers spend 67% more than new customers.

For example, recommending a soundbar to someone who has just purchased a TV from you to enhance their experience.

5. Time and Effort Savings

Marketing automation streamlines and automates repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up communications and segmenting customer lists. This can particularly come in handy when timeliness is important to keep the customer engaged.

For example, rather than manually sending order confirmation messages, FMCD companies can use marketing automation to handle the updates sent to the customers.

6. Behavior Tracking and Scoring

Marketing automation tools can track user behavior on your website and assign lead scores based on engagement.

This helps your sales team prioritize high-quality and high-intent leads and focus their efforts on prospects more likely to convert.

Statistics have found that companies using marketing automation have noticed an 80% increase in lead quality.

For example, a consumer who has subscribed to a price drop alert vs one who has submitted a request to receive EMI details. In this case, FMCD brands can use automation to keep the former engaged and follow up with the latter closely.

7. Rapid A/B Testing and Optimization

Marketing automation allows for A/B testing of various marketing elements, such as email subject lines, content, and CTAs. By analyzing the results, FMCD brands can continuously optimize your campaigns, leading to improved conversion rates over time.

They can also track how different content performs across the communication channels. With this information, brands can then use emails for long-form content to educate consumers while putting SMS to work for time-sensitive reminders.

8. Identifying Purchase Drop-Offs

Be it online or offline, a lot of purchases in the FMCD sector are not linear. A consumer can choose to explore products online, and then visit an offline retail store to get a look and feel of the product, only to come back and buy it from a marketplace instead.

Since buyer journeys are complex, it’s important for brands to automate their communication across channels. If it’s someone who has added an item to cart, follow up with information and deals on the product. And if it’s someone who requested details for an EMI on a washing machine at the retail outlet, automate a follow-up to learn more about their concerns.

How to enhance customer journeys with marketing automation?

Here are some significant ways to boost customer journeys with marketing automation:

1. Create a Single Dashboard for Comprehensive Customer Lifecycle Management

Utilize a customer data platform like WebEngage to consolidate user data, streamline campaign creation, and analyze the entire customer lifecycle through a holistic funnel view. This enables FMCD companies to manage and interpret customer data effectively while crafting campaigns that align with various stages of the customer journey.

The WebEngage Customer Data Platform provides a centralized hub to better understand and engage with customers at every touchpoint, facilitating informed decision-making.

2. Hyper-Personalize Multichannel Marketing Campaigns for Engagement

Recognize that customers utilize different channels at various stages of their journey. Once you have a detailed customer dashboard, identify their communication preferences, interests, intent and purchase behavior to create hyper-personalized campaigns.

86% of companies have seen an uptick in business results from hyper-personalization. And with an omnichannel automation platform like WebEngage, FMCD companies of all scales can also reap the same results.

3. Active Customer Segmentation for Personalized Campaigns

Employ active customer segmentation strategies using WebEngage’s customer segmentation features. The platform uses machine learning to segment customers based on past data, and ongoing user behavior.

With this strategy, FMCD businesses can create customer cohorts for their campaigns that are personalized proactively. This increases the accuracy and context of the campaigns triggered, leading to higher engagement and conversions.

4. Design Tailored Customer Journeys

Using the insights from customer profiling and active segmentation, FMCD companies can create tailored experiences for their audience. With a marketing automation platform like WebEngage, brands can automate lifecycle campaigns like onboarding, cart recovery, reminders, winback campaigns, and more.

With Campaign Orchestration, brands can also automate campaigns based on business events. This can include the launch of a sale, price drop on popular items, and other events.

For example, when the prices drop during the festive sale, the brand uses their customer segments to reach out to discount shoppers via its subscribed channels – email, SMS, web push, or WhatsApp.

Conclusion

At WebEngage, we understand the unique challenges you face in this industry, and we’re here to empower you with the tools and expertise needed to excel.

WebEngage allows you to engage customers across various channels, ensuring your messages reach them wherever they are. In addition to the same, advanced features like customer segmentation, cohort analysis, journey designer relays, and more, further help you keep users engaged in a contextual manner.

Want to know more? Let’s connect.