Build an Updated Customer Journey with Performance TV

4 Min Read

How we think about the customer journey is outdated—and no, we’re not just being dramatic.

Traditionally, the customer journey was viewed as linear, a step-by-step process that prioritized the business rather than the customer. Today, however, it’s critical to understand the entire relationship between brands and customers, rather than just evaluating certain touchpoints. As more performance marketing options emerge, businesses are reevaluating their current strategy and figuring out how Connected TV (CTV) fits into the mix.

Ali Haeri, Senior Vice President of Marketing at MNTN, recently joined Insider Intelligence Streaming and the New Digital Ad Economy virtual summit to discuss why CTV has brands rethinking the customer journey. 

CTV and the Customer Journey 

Advertisers and marketers used to use television advertising for general brand awareness. While branding is often a high-level marketing strategy already, serving ads to a broad audience meant businesses had to keep their video creative especially vague. 

Now, with CTV, businesses can choose their audiences with precision, allowing them to reach customers at every part of the sales funnel. But this also means vague creative won’t cut it anymore—brands need to offer updated and relevant content tailored to their specific audience segments wherever they are in their journey. 

By connecting with them early on in the buying process, brands can help form a connection with the customer, starting a conversation that keeps them engaged and moving down the funnel. 

The Importance of the Customer Experience 

As Haeri walked through in the presentation, the customer experience is vital to the relationship between brands and customers. Whether online or in person, a good first impression—and an even better ongoing one—can make or break your brand. 

Not convinced? Let’s review some stats: 

• Loyal customers are 5x more likely to purchase again—and 4x more likely to refer a friend to the company.
• Two-thirds of customers will share personal information with brands, but only in exchange for some kind of value.
• 80% of customers say they’re more likely to shop with a company if it offers personalized experiences.

With CTV, your business has the opportunity to connect with customers and create a positive impression through relevant creative, no matter where they are in the buying process. 

Rebuilding Your Strategy

Now that you know what needs upgrading, it’s time to put on your toolbelt and remodel your CTV marketing strategy around the customer experience. Get started by asking your team a few quick questions: 

• What does your average customer’s journey actually look like? 
• How do they interact with your brand at each part of their journey? 
• What do they need to know during each step of the journey? 

Instead of relying on what your team thinks the answers to these questions are, this is the time to listen to your audience. This is especially true for CTV since viewers use the platform to watch content across multiple networks, subscriptions, and devices. 

But don’t worry—this isn’t cause for concern. It’s an opportunity to walk in-step with your audience, helping to move them through the sales funnel with more data. 

One Step at a Time

We all build staircases (literal and otherwise) the same way. Once you’ve got this in mind, you can create specific, actionable steps for your strategy. These might include: 

• Focusing on targeting and relevance to reach the right audience at the right time 
• Understanding what your audience needs at each step of the funnel, and providing that information to them via targeted CTV advertising
• Creating multiple variations of customized spots to tailor messaging to different stages of the sales funnel
• Combining CTV ads with additional ad placements—including social media and search—to expand your presence
• Using data from different sources—including first-party data, third-party data, and cross-device targeting—for effective reach and targeting

Reach Your Audience With the Right Tools

By implementing powerful strategies, you’ll be able to connect with the right people at the right time. At every step of the journey, your brand can be there to share the information they need to make an informed decision—and, hopefully, become your loyal customer. To learn more about effectively adding CTV to your customer’s journey, watch the full webinar here.