I recently spoke on an Atypon panel, "Unlocking the Power of Data: Strategies for Audience Engagement," with Leslie Eager (Health Affairs), Rachel Bock (Wiley), and Hannah Smith (Wiley) to talk about the why, what, and how of building an audience strategy. The recording is now available. The link is below in the comments. I've also included in the comments a link to a blog post I wrote, "Audience Strategy for Publishers and Associations." For organizations looking to be more audience-centric, I offered the following 8 tips: 1. Bust silos: Organizations have a single, multifaceted audience, not separate disconnected ones. Within an audience, individuals often have multiple roles - e.g., reader, author, member, and event attendee. Recognizing these interconnected roles requires breaking down internal silos to develop a view of each community member, enabling personalized experiences that transcend traditional departmental boundaries. 2. Reimagine (and invest in) marketing: To fully capitalize on the benefits of an audience strategy, marketing needs to be modernized and valued (i.e., invested in). Organizations should look to other industries where marketing has been central to driving business success. 3. Data need to be actionable: Marketing teams must be able to quickly activate data for campaigns and personalized experiences without IT bottlenecks. Staff in all functions should have access to relevant reporting, analytics, and KPIs to inform their decision-making. 4. Challenge existing tech: AMSs and CRMs are not sufficient to achieve audience centricity. If this is an organizational priority, additional investment will be required. 5. Business-outcomes led: An audience strategy often requires investment. Start by identifying high-value use cases and business case framework first. Different organizations have different needs and financial upside potential. Careful analysis is required to determine the best path forward. 6. Tools do not tool: Build a strategic roadmap and be clear what you need. Do not look at tools in isolation. There is no single magic bullet tool. 7. More than tech: Change is not just about purchasing new technology, but the strategies and skills needed to adopt the tech. Successful adoption often requires changes to processes and organization design. Don't purchase technology before understanding the total cost of ownership and the change required within your organization. 8. Balance roadmap with quick wins: While a single customer view is important, it is a long-term destination. Many use cases can be advanced without fully achieving it. Adopting technology requires a disciplined focus on specific use cases. The goal is to achieve value quickly, prove that value, and then continue to extend capabilities. You don't want a twelve-month project before seeing benefits. Instead, aim for incremental improvements that deliver tangible results along the way to a more comprehensive customer view.
Webinar Recording: https://vimeo.com/1003344895
Nice to see you are doing work with Wiley, Colleen. I joined their partner solutions team today as Director Product Marketing.
Colleen Scollans late to the party here but huge thanks for joining the webinar and for sharing your truly insightful perspective! This came up with lots of customers at our @Atypon Community Day yesterday and your expertise is so valuable as our industry starts to get serious about MarTech!
The webinar was excellent—thanks to you and your co-presenters for sharing such great information. I'm excited to see how we can weave some of it into our plans!
Great call outs here. Always enjoy your expertise!
Consultant, Advisor & CMO Coach | Public Speaker | Marketing, Customer Experience & MarTech | Chief Marketing Officer & Digital Strategist
2moC&E Blog article: https://www.ce-strategy.com/2023/07/audience-strategy-for-publishers-and-associations/