The Value of the Understood Consumer

Among marketing’s increasingly important modern challenges is the expectation of consumers for brands to deliver experiences that feel tailored specifically for them. That requisite extends beyond the features of the end product itself to the manner in which products and services are discovered, compared, and ultimately purchased and experienced.

In fact, today’s discerning consumers go a layer deeper, looking to understand and align the values of a brand to their own. So how do we as marketers keep up? In short, we must research and understand our consumer as acutely as they do us.

Tools like MMGY Global’s TRiPs travel audience segments and the personalized segmentation and modeling of Terminal help marketers understand their consumers through detailed data and insights coupled with psychographic narratives that tell a precise story about who our consumer is, what they believe and how they behave.

While marketers know the value of consumer research, those responsible for the organizational bottom line may need more convincing. The good news is that a well-understood consumer is also a very valuable consumer. There are very real, tangible benefits to consumer segmentation and profiling.

To name a few:

• Develop Dynamic Creative Strategy – From content pillars to messaging to visual treatments, knowing your audience increases your ability to speak their language. Immersing yourself in the core behaviors and preferences of your target audience enables you to map creative approaches that speak to each audience segment with messages and visuals that will resonate most. This can help streamline creative testing and shorten your path to optimal performance and maximizing ROI.
• Better Identify the Right Place, Right Time – The days of the “spray and pray” approach to channel selection are – or at least should be – far behind us. Consumer profiling can also help narrow down not only where our most valuable prospects are physically located but where they spend the majority of their time digitally and with other forms of media as well.
• Right-Size Your Audience for ROI – Marketers are charged with identifying and targeting prospects with the highest potential for return value and right-sizing their target mix to optimize return while also maintaining loyalty from long-standing brand enthusiasts. Profiling your consumer can also help with identifying the long-term value of consumers. Who is most likely to remain brand loyal? Who spends the most on the experiences and services that are central to your brand? Consumer profiles can help answer these questions and more.
• Establish More Relevant Partnerships – Your brand isn’t the only one that your customers interact with day to day. There’s a lot to gain from understanding your audience’s brand preferences, what attracts them to a brand and what leads them to be loyal to a brand. Gathering these insights can not only help you make adjustments to your own brand positioning and allow you to identify the right consumers for you but can also help identify partnership opportunities with other brands that generate synergies with your own.
• Understanding Leads to Appreciation – Perhaps the most important benefit of understanding your consumer on a deeper level is the ability to build brand loyalty from a shared understanding of what your brand stands for and aligning that with your customer’s expectations. As previously mentioned, consumers expect brands to be a reflection of their personal, deeply held beliefs and reflect that in their purchase decisions.

Whether you manage a small, Midwestern market with rich cultural and culinary offerings and are looking to attract a fiscally-conscious consumer (like the Financially Resilient Traveler TRiPs audience) or a large metro with diverse neighborhoods that attract a variety of different traveler personas – consumer profiling tools like Terminal and TRiPs can be the key to unlocking the potential of data and building a genuine relationship with your most viable customers.

Yolanda Hanson, SVP, Managing Director, MMGY TravelDesk

While this article focuses on travel marketing in the US context, the principles around deeply understanding your target consumers ring true for European marketers as well. With travel patterns rapidly evolving in a post-pandemic world, European Destination Marketing Organisations face the challenge of re-engaging audiences and positioning their offerings to align with travelers’ values and priorities today. Investing in travel research and audience profiles should be a priority. Tools like traveler segmentation and modeling can uncover key insights on travelers’ motivations, values, behaviors and brand preferences that inform highly tailored branding, media and campaign strategies. Consumer expectations for personalisation and meaningful brand experiences continue rising globally. Destinations that take the time to intimately understand the nuances of their target audiences across markets will have an advantage in building loyalty and showcasing their relevance. In a competitive landscape, understanding your consumer is what sets you apart. This article provides a compelling case for valuing audience insights and using them to create tailored, resonant messaging and experiences that foster true connections. The principles are applicable across geographies and critical for European marketers to embrace as well.

The International Beacher and Luxury European Traveler TRiPs profiles recently launched by MMGY Global offer rich insights into these attractive US travel segments for European destinations. The International Beacher represents sophisticated travelers seeking sun, sand and cultural immersion in beach destinations worldwide. Meanwhile, Luxury European Travelers are affluent Americans drawn to indulge in Europe’s history, art, culture, cuisine and shopping. These narratives paint a detailed picture of the values, behaviors, motivations and brand affinity of these lucrative prospective visitors. The TRiPs toolkit also contains numerous other audience profiles like City Explorer and Golf Enthusiast that provide invaluable perspectives on the preferences and trip planning habits of US travelers. Investing in understanding the nuances of your target audiences is key for European marketers looking to engage American travelers. The TRiPs profiles offer an impactful tool for gaining this understanding and TravelDesk’s ability to activate these addressable segments as well as harnessing and incorporating the insights into programmatic strategies further strengthen our ability to drive results.

This article underscores the immense value of understanding your consumer on a deeper level, which is vital for European tourism marketers to keep top of mind. Investing in updated consumer research and intelligence tools pays dividends in the ability to engage audiences authentically.

TRiPs is the easiest way for travel marketers to understand and connect with their target audiences. With our highly segmented traveler audience profiles, you’ll gain valuable insights that will inform every marketing decision you make. Download TRiPs profiles for free and share them with your creative and media teams to inspire them to create more effective campaigns and ensure that your advertising reaches the right audiences. Don’t stop there! Activate against these audiences in any major DSP.