3 Steps to Influencing Brand Preference

Armed with data-rich profiles, retailers are engaging shoppers with personalized content, offers and campaigns that are contextually relevant and timely. Leading brands know there's a strong correlation between how effectively they help consumers and building shopper preference for that brand. Helping is the new selling.

The success of this correlation relies on knowing how to decipher consumer intent accurately. Furthermore, the three key capabilities for deciphering intent and enabling shoppers are a 360-degree unified customer database, customer intelligence analytics and sophisticated behavioral targeting. When not used together, they can create a disconnected experience that does more harm than good. When used in concert, they can forge a brand experience that makes a lasting — and highly profitable — impression.

Today's consumers are in control. They define a meaningful brand experience according to their needs and preferences, and then decide if a brand is trustworthy. If retail marketers want to make the cut, they need to recognize that this empowerment has forever changed the rules of brand engagement.

Nick Worth is chief marketing officer of Selligent, an international marketing automation provider that powers brands’ customer engagement programs.