Reimagining customer journey management.

The short answer is that consumers see things differently. In our two surveys, we found a misalignment between how marketers and consumers perceive brand communications. In contrast to the relatively positive perspective marketers shared, consumers had a notably less rosy point of view about the communications they receive from brands. Most marketers (74%) said they feel that they send out the right number of communications to customers. Meanwhile, over two-thirds of consumers (69%) feel that they receive too many messages and notifications from brands.

To cope with the deluge of messages they receive, consumers unsubscribe from email lists, turn off notifications, delete mobile apps, or simply tune out.

Consumers delete or ignore 48% of all the messages they receive from brands without reading them. In addition, 86% of consumers unsubscribe or turn off notifications if the content is not relevant to them, and 85% agree it is important to delete apps they no longer use.

To recap, marketers are feeling confident about their ability to connect with customers, but they may be too confident. By contrast, consumers are feeling overwhelmed by the deluge of messages they receive every day. Brands may feel that they’re sending out the right number of messages to their customers, but those messages might be getting lost in the mix, given all the messages customers receive from other brands.

So how can brands rise above the noise and create compelling customer experiences for every new visitor or loyal brand advocate? Today, brands that want to take customer engagement to the next level should focus on enabling real-time, personalized, and customer-centric journeys that reach consumers at the right time, with the right message, on the right channel. Let’s look at what marketers and consumers had to say.

Email continues to be an important channel, and for some types of communication, it remains the best option. However, brands should avoid depending on email too much because consumers ignore a large percentage of these communications.

Consumers told us they receive far more brand messages by email than any other channel, but they also disregard emails more than any other type of communication.

Over half of emails (58%) are deleted or ignored without consumers reading them. If marketers focus too much on email, they could risk getting lost in consumers’ email inboxes.

Customers today are on the move. They are not stuck at a desk behind a computer or waiting at home for print mail or a landline call. Mobile devices allow shoppers, travelers, fans, and banking and insurance company customers to stay engaged, anywhere and anytime.

Mobile puts the customer in control, but it also increases their expectations for real-time, personalized engagement. Engaging customers through their mobile devices, via SMS, push notifications, and in-app messages, is therefore a critical part of a brand’s omnichannel customer journey management strategy.

Since mobile engagement plays such an important role in real-time contextual communications with prospects and customers, it provides a great opportunity for a brand to activate customer interest or adoption in real time. Let’s look at how our survey results back up the recommendation to focus on mobile, with its higher signal-to-noise ratio, for fueling customer-centric journeys.