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Selling to a Market of One

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Tougher markets encourage deeper, more profitable customer relationships. The need for banks to treat each of us as unique is becoming more important. Three technologies in particular are making selling to a market of one a practical option; digital marketing, social networking and predictive analytics.

Digital marketing is not just a technology, it is also a channel. In fact it is many channels and embraces every aspect of digital media including the T.V., the internet, the mobile phone, social media; even older technologies such as radio.

Whenever we click on a website, we create digital breadcrumbs that leave behind clues about our interests and preferences. They provide important intelligence about our real needs that marketing departments can respond to.

Social media generates conversations about brands and customer experiences which banks can follow. Airline companies in particular have been successful in using social networks as a customer service tool allowing them to respond proactively to individual issues and concerns.

Some social networking sites - Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and Facebook Places - allow members to share their locations with other members. This can provide promotional opportunities for businesses. For example, each time someone checks in to a Hard Rock Cafe in the United States using Facebook Places, Hard Rock International donates a dollar to WhyHunger, a charity fighting global poverty and hunger. The offer lasts through December 2010 - an innovative way of gaining customers and promoting Hard Rock's commitment to philanthropy.

Enter our third technology - predictive analytics. This enables us to match customers with products to achieve the best return. We can also use analytics to determine customer profitability; even track customer activity across different channels. Selling to a market of one is no longer an academic concept, but something banks can do today.

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