At its core, the Connect conference is all about authentic human connection. This event is an open forum where world-class speakers deliver strategies that focus on creating authentic relationships. Attendees gain extensive knowledge on customer success, marketing technology, and entrepreneurial innovations over two days of engaging sessions.
In June, hundreds of professionals gathered in Denver to have conversations about thoughtfully using data to build authentic relationships at scale.
Data is what makes it possible for businesses to be more empathetic and authentic with their customers. What began as “spray and pray” soon evolved to segmentation by affinities and interests, and transformed to our current state of one-on-one personal communications.
Matt Schwartz, Chief Technology Officer, Sage Hospitality, said that creating authenticity is solely about treating customers and communication channels differently. Blasting the same message across channels will no longer work. What is working, said Justin Garrity, CEO of Sprinklr, is:
- Empathizing with your customers
- Engaging your customers
- Using lifecycle changes to prompt discussions at a meaningful level
Hospitality experts at the event touched on brand loyalty and customer experience, themes that could be enhanced by something as simple as saying:
Hey, John, congrats on your son’s graduation.
The tipping point is knowing when your customers want to have a conversation and when they want a business to “just know.” Part of that instinct can come from knowing and understanding the type of customer you are serving. No one wants to be stereotyped, nor should they be, but humanizing your the customer is critical.
Dave Gerhardt, VP of Marketing at Drift said it best:
Being real and authentic is the best possible marketing strategy you can employ.
