Performance marketing, coupled with branding, is the future: ET Medialabsâ€™ Vibha Singh

The field of digital marketing is soaring high in the present times, says Vibha Singh, VP, ET Medialabs. In an interview with Adgully, she talks about the trends in the digital marketing space, growth marketing strategies for unicorns, and much more. She believes that Apple’s recent privacy update regarding the protection of a consumer’s personal data can be a big hurdle for marketers. “As the world has transitioned into virtual spaces and become comfortable with all things digital in recent times, one can anticipate technology to become a permanent part of the upcoming tomorrow. Thus, if you are looking for sustained long-term growth, performance marketing, coupled with branding, is the future,” says Singh. Excerpts:

What are the trends that you expect to dominate in your sector in 2022?

Trends that would probably dominate the growth marketing space in 2022 include:

Data and Analytics

Data and analytics form the crux of any growth marketing strategy, and its importance is going to get even more defined in the coming year. It is imperative to make data-backed decisions in order to drive impactful results and diving deep into data helps us understand whether our tactics are working and giving us the desired results.

Focusing on customer retention

When it comes to tracking NCAs, customer retention usually takes a backseat. As we try to focus all our efforts on acquiring and attracting new customers, we miss out on retaining the ones we have already acquired. I am sure that in the year ahead, customer retention will also have an equally important role in our overall strategy for the client.

Real-time customer feedback

Without timely feedback, businesses won’t get to know about all those areas or strategies that need further improvement. Thus, taking regular feedback through surveys or online forms will help them understand what is working and what is not. It is important for the business to understand their entire customer experience and make regular improvements and modifications to it.

What is ETMedialabs’ marketing strategy to drive profit in the new financial year?

At ETML, we have always focused primarily on the clients’ sales, maximising their NCAs while keeping the CAC at a minimum. We focus on driving long-term sustainable growth for the client and not just short-term or short-lived growth. Our performance plus branding efforts, combined with our data- and process-driven approach, help us drive profits in a very holistic manner and we plan to continue with this approach in the new financial year as well.

What are the challenges and new opportunities that you see emerging in the year ahead?

In the year ahead, I believe Apple’s recent privacy update regarding the protection of a consumer’s personal data can be a big hurdle for marketers. Amid ever-increasing concern for privacy amongst customers, this new update from Apple has given them more privacy and enabled them to opt out of ad tracking as all the apps in the app store will now require permission from the users to track them across different apps and websites owned by third parties for the purposes of advertising. The update will forbid the collection and sharing of data by businesses unless people opt to go for it. This has put limitations on those businesses using advertising for mobile apps on iOS devices as well as those that drive their business goals through their website. It will be difficult for marketers to study the habits of such users and target them through their campaigns.

However, such updates and modifications in the digital world come with a silver lining of their own. They prove that this space is ever-evolving and dynamic, and will lead to more precise targeting by marketers in the future. Advertisers will now need precise audiences (preferably mutually exclusive and exhaustive) and manual interventions on optimisations would be required.

What are the five growth marketing strategies that can help India’s unicorns unlock their digital future?

Data Analytics

Data forms the core of performance marketing and with the help of accurate and comprehensive data analysis, we can capitalise on the right opportunities. Regular and continued data analysis helps us modify our strategies on a real-time basis.

Building business acumen

In the performance marketing space, business acumen is required in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the client’s needs, along with the ability to perfectly articulate our plan to reach the desired results. Having strong business acumen helps us have a bird’s eye view of the larger picture.

Being adaptable

Being adaptable can be important when working on projects, developing strategies, and implementing different approaches to meeting goals. By showing adaptability skills, we reveal how motivated we are to try new things and learn new skills.

Keep abreast of the latest industry trends

Technology is ever-evolving, and we must change with the times as well. It is imperative to stay updated with the latest tools and technologies available in the industry in order to stay at the forefront.

Understanding your target audience

Understanding our TG and their behaviour, geography, demography, and other characteristics is crucial to every marketing plan and strategy we execute.

How does ETMedialab help brands in improving performance marketing?

At ETML, we have proven time and again how data can radically improve the way brands acquire and grow high-valued customers. As Google and Facebook’s premier partners, we have an upper hand in unlocking growth opportunities.

Additionally, our in-house proprietary tools – EasyInsights and Adbytts – provide us with a comprehensive data analysis and full-funnel visibility of all our campaigns, which help us make informed decisions and further drive growth for all our clients.

Our man + machine approach can not only manage the brand’s account, but also analyse and improve the performance of the ads significantly by focusing on sales conversions and not just clicks through machine-learned ad automation.

What digital marketing strategies do you recommend for start-ups?

The field of digital marketing is soaring high in the present times. As the world has transitioned into virtual spaces and become comfortable with all things digital in recent times, one can anticipate technology to become a permanent part of the upcoming tomorrow. Thus, if you are looking for sustained long-term growth, performance marketing, coupled with branding, is the future. However, just to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, you can try a combination of sustained performance, branding, affiliate marketing, and influencer marketing to make sure you are targeting your target consumer on all possible platforms.

Any start-up looking forward to sustaining and growing itself through digital mediums in the future must try this out and avail of the many benefits that it has to offer.