Are we approaching customers based on the sender's convenience?

As marketing evolves toward identifying each individual customer and delivering the information they want, when and where they want it, integrating various technologies—marketing clouds, DMPs , CMS , dashboards, analytics tools—into daily marketing activities has become commonplace.

Amidst this, when implementing what technology enables—such as "delivering personalized content," "identifying customers in-store," or "targeting based on location"—does it truly bring joy to customers?

Are we implementing these features solely for the convenience of the sender?

This is something we often debate internally.

 

How will customers perceive it?

For example,consider a scenario where "implementing a DMP allows us to instantly recognize customers visiting our store." Technologycould enable us to approacha customerlikethis: "Mr. Tanaka, thank you for purchasing 30 daifuku mochia week ago. Since your family of four has likely consumed them by now, would you like to try some today?" But is that actually a pleasant experience for the customer?

Content targeting, advertising segmentation, and remarketing fundamentally follow the same communication structure. Yet, even with this structure, consider a customer who regularly buys facial toner online. Receiving a recommendation when they're running low is actually convenient and saves them the trouble.

For the sender, delivering information only to interested parties is highly efficient. For customers, avoiding unnecessary information is also appreciated.

 

However, depending on the product type, purchase location, or timing, a well-intentioned strategy can sometimes backfire. I believe we need to engage our imagination beyond mere numbers and logic to understand how customers perceive things at any given moment.

Therefore, it becomes crucial in daily marketing activities to grasp how customers perceive your company's initiatives. If communication channels between your company and customers are established on a regular basis, you can ask them directly. One approach is to shift the perspective of analyzing data and social comments from "whether they are acting as our company envisions" to "how the other party feels."

 

Unless consumers eventually become so accustomed to technology that it feels invisible, or technology evolves to the point where its presence is seamlessly integrated, we must remember that at this stage, communication mediated by technology is constantly perceived by customers on a delicate balance between comfort and discomfort.

 

Adding Imagination to Technology

Marketing technology has two sides: one that enhances the accuracy of the sender's (the company's) marketing strategy and streamlines daily operations, and another that provides a pleasant experience for the receiver.

Senders inevitably tend to prioritize acquiring customers as efficiently as possible and running projects as efficiently as possible. There is also a tendency for metrics that are easier to quantify to be more readily understood and valued by internal stakeholders.

But it's also true that if customers don't smoothly accept a company's approach and take action, it won't translate into results for the company.

Efficiency versus emotion, left brain versus right brain, data versus creativity.

The question isn't which is more important, but where the optimal balance between technology and communication lies. Where exactly is that balance in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape?

In the process of advancing marketing through data and technology, we must constantly check this point as we move forward. And the more we advance, the more imagination about the customer becomes essential—this is what I feel every day.