Industry experts talk ‘purpose’ and ‘personalisation’

An engaging panel discussion held at the e4m Pitch CMO Summit, Delhi, brought eminent leaders from the industry to discuss and share their respective views on the topic ‘leveraging customer data & personalisation strategies for purpose-driven marketing’.

The panel comprised Deepinder Singh, Vice President Marketing, Pristyn Care; Esha Nagar, Managing Director, Nepa APAC; Ishwindar Singh, General Manager – Marketing, Pernod Ricard India; Joydeep Mukherjee, Chief Marketing Oficer, Adda52, and Madhur Acharya, Vice President – e-commerce, Lenskart. The session was moderated by Tanisha Doshi, Director - Growth & Strategy, WebEngage.

In today's day and age, it is important for businesses to leverage data in a meaningful way. Speaking on how he is leveraging customer data for purpose-driven marketing, Deepinder said, “It is important for us to understand that personalisation is super critical in the business, specifically a business which spans over 40 cities and over 50 specialities. So, a person reaching out to me for a speciality cannot land on another. My communication cannot be incorrect. Being a digital-first company, we are able to track what a person is searching for – that is the point of our data journey.   Being a digital-first company, we are able to track what a person is searching for, what he is doing on a website and what actions he is taking. And every time, there are data interpretations that need to be taken out, that what a person is looking for and what you are showing him, and is that even useful for the person.”

Elaborating on the trends she observes in the ecosystem today, Nagar said, “At Nepa, we are a research firm – consumer science firm – so the theme is as much of an opportunity in the ecosystem as also a confusing place to be in. The words ‘purpose’ and ‘personalisation’ have brought in reverse trends in research. To quote some examples, we are seeing that the rule of personalisation says that treat people not like data number but with human identity. It is easier said than done. We are seeing that as much as quantitative data, a lot of big segmentation and a lot of quantitative work that has been the pulse of research industry.”

Ishwindar shared how he leverages data, “We have certain data points which are regulated so we do not look at that. There is a very important fundamental piece here – that there is a lot of data out there. And if not rightly looked at or segmented and if the right segments are not derived, it will lead to a stage where you look at the scale of data and it could paralyse you. And we have seen that happen in a lot of projects, where you have so much data and try to make sense out of it. But the nuances in the data, it starts telling you of potential areas that comes out of the quantitative and then when you put a qualitative lens around it and go deeper into finding the insight, is where the magic happens.”

Mukherjee talked about how he leverages data at Adda52, “Data plays an important role but till the time you apply the layer of qualitative insights on it, there is precious little you can do with data. And I have the privilege of coming from organisations where you really have a lot of data which comes in very quickly and you can act on it. Now, how does data help you? Data helps you in making communication with consumers extremely contextual and immediate. Because with the kind of systems we have, I am able to talk to a customer about something which the customer probably involved in right now.”

Acharya added, “You have a lot of data coming out from all the channels you have been working – from a sales standpoint and from a marketing standpoint. If you do not know what to do about it, it is going to be wastage. And we as marketers do not talk about the analytical part of collecting data; I think we all agree that in the boardroom, the problem we have to face is the limitation of budget we have and how we are going to use it.”