The Truth About Digital Fatigue
Am I the only growth advisor feeling like digital marketing effectiveness is waning? I’m afraid it’s not just a gut feeling. From what I’m seeing across industries, the tried-and-true digital marketing playbook of paid ads, retargeting, email – just isn’t delivering like it used to. Something has shifted; the ROI on digital marketing isn’t what it used to be. While I admit my perspective favors B2B marketing, my B2C marketing colleagues are also seeing a declining success rate in their digital marketing strategies. Once again, I see the trend to get back to customer experience basics as core to weathering the latest storm on the marketing front.
What’s Not Working; and Why?
There is a noticeable digital recession on the most revered digital platforms including Google, Meta and even the popular, yet controversial, Tik Tok. The drop in advertising ROI means that customer acquisition costs are rising. Why is this happening? In addition to audience segments like Gen Z and millennials trading search engines for AI assistants, other factors like Apple’s privacy changes and cookie deprecation, coupled with oversaturation of continuous marketing messages and news of cybersecurity risks, leave audiences feeling wary or scared of clicking on the wrong link.
Add to the endless messages being more personalized than ever with the normalization of AI across all marketing platforms, and the fear of acting on those very specific digital marketing messages become even more threatening.
What IS Working; and Why?
As I have seen many times in the past, brands are returning to tried-and-true brand-building tactics that put the customer in the center of the brand experience. Here are a few of my most treasured customer experience strategies:
- Build human connection over automation: First, be sure you know your customer journey by interviewing every functional team that interfaces with the customer; and then build specific communications connections throughout the journey. Human connection can be digital, as long as your customer feels seen. Automation must be deployed to benefit the customer first, not your speed to market.
- Focus on securing brand trust versus click-throughs: while a clever prompt may get you lots of clicks, if the prize at the end of the rainbow is a wilted three-leafed clover, you will damage your brand reputation. Be sure what you are offering hits the pain points of your customer and their needs.
- Tell stories that endure versus offer promos that erode brand value: customers want to know that engaging with your brand means they have invested in something of value, something that can prove value. Find ways to make your brand promise unmistakenly yours, and consistently true.
- Build community versus content libraries: everyone wants to belong. Find the equivalent of the brand loyalty community that clients can connect with. Consider starting a Customer User’s Forum, or a LinkedIn group around your brand’s core value proposition. And focus on value add over calls to action.
AI Is the Engine, Not the Map
The bonus element enhancing the traditional fundamentals of customer experience is the implementation of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools.
A recent blog I read noted that if your marketing team isn’t using Gen AI, you are already behind. Most of us experience the use of Gen AI in B2C scenarios. A few of the ways Gen AI is being used to enhance familiar marketing tactics are:
- Personalization at scale (e.g., Stitch Fix, Hilton preferences)
- Predictive loyalty nudges (e.g., Starbucks “Deep Brew,” United Airlines upgrades)
- Smarter timing and message details (e.g., Taco Bell meal combos)
In B2B marketing, Gen AI is able to optimize email content, tailor web experiences based on company profile or CRM status, even qualify leads using chatbots and on-site behavior. However, Gen AI can be used more effectively in the B2B segment by improving the customer experience, not just the communication. Gen AI makes “the right message, to the right person, at the right time” more real than ever. But predicting what a customer needs next, adapting service levels dynamically or enhancing the buying experience or the product use continue to lag behind B2C experiences enhanced by Gen AI.
Where to Begin?
No matter the size of your company, taking time to understand the people who you want to buy from you, and engaging with them in a way that delivers an experience versus a product or service is the starting point for a loyal customer experience. Reinvest in emotional intelligence, not just artificial intelligence. Measure loyalty, not just conversions. Tell stories that inspire, and deliver outcomes, not just describe product or service offers.
The New Digital Brand Landscape
Some of the most effective marketing strategies aren’t new at all. They just need to be brought back to the top of the marketing strategic plan…again. As Ecclesiastes 1:9 reminds us, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” And interestingly, Stephen King put it another way, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”
In the rush to adopt the latest digital tactics, we may be overlooking what customers have wanted all along: relevance, trust, and connection.
“Let’s get back to basics, but this time, utilize new tools to understand your customers’ needs, build trust in your brand, and deliver experiences that strengthen the bond between you and your real growth engine – your customers!
At Newport, we help growth-minded leaders cut through digital noise and refocus on what truly drives results – trust, relevance and meaningful customer experiences. Contact us today to schedule a discovery call.
