What is moments-based marketing?

In our latest webinar featuring Forrester, Why moments are the secret to cross-channel success, we walked through the importance of moments-based marketing and some examples of brands succeeding in it—and other brands not so much. 

Simply put, in the webinar Forrester describes moments as “the point when a person interacts with a brand to get what he or she wants immediately and in context.” Moments-based marketing is individual, real-time, and predictive. Seems easy enough to do, right? Unfortunately, not all marketers are currently implementing this, so let’s uncover what precisely moments-based marketing looks like, and how it can take your marketing strategy to the next level. 

We’ll look at two scenarios of a consumer purchasing a rain jacket. The first scenario focuses on common marketing communication and the other scenario on implementing moments-based marketing.

Scenario 1: Basic trigger email marketing

A consumer browses your website and, along the way, provides their email address to receive a promotion. You can now identify who they are and understand their browsing activity. They click on a few different rain jackets and place one in their cart but leave the page. You send them a triggered email two days after they have an abandoned cart item that is personalized with their name and the item they were looking at. The consumer clicks on the email and completes their purchase of the rain jacket. A day after the rain jacket arrives, you follow up with another triggered email asking the consumer to rate their shopping experience and to review the item. 

This customer experience is common across many brands and has become the standard, but can be improved with moments-based marketing. Let’s look at what this journey looks like with moments-based marketing incorporated.

Scenario 2: Moments-based marketing

A consumer browses your website and, along the way, provides their email address to receive a promotion. You can now identify who they are and understand their browsing activity. They click on a few different rain jackets and place one in their cart but leave the page. You leverage the consumer’s geolocation and local weather data to determine when there is rain in the forecast, and then send them a personalized email the day it rains about how they could use the rain jacket they left in the cart. The consumer is contacted when they need a rain jacket—providing relevant content in that moment. The consumer decides to purchase the rain jacket. And instead of sending an email to review it the day after it arrives, you wait until there has been another storm and they’ve had a chance to use it. 

With moments-based marketing, the consumer is reminded about the rain jacket during a rainy day when it’s most contextually relevant. The post-purchase email also provides the user enough time to use the jacket and, specifically, after a time it rains. These adjustments may seem minor, but added up, they make a significant impact on the customer experience and journey. These moments act as the glue to a memorable brand experience and provide value to the consumer and your brand.

And remember, every consumer is different and prefers different types of communications and content. Two different consumers can have other personalized moments. If you’re unsure of what their preferences are, ask! This level of information and data is called zero-party data, which Forrester defines as “data that a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand, which can include preference center data, purchase intentions, personal context, and how the individual wants the brand to recognize [them].” It’s perfectly fine to ask your consumers what type of content they like, communication methods, frequency of communications and more. 

To learn more about moments-based marketing and zero-party data, be sure to check out our webinar featuring Forrester here. Also, learn what marketers who attended the webinar have to say about moments-based marketing.