Embrace Complexity, That’s Where the Magic Happens!

@David Edelman, a well-respected marketing transformation thought leader, published a recent article on LinkedIn and MediaPost in which he posits that the cost of complexity counters the promised lift from segment-of-one marketing.

In “Segment-of-One: Is the Complexity Out of Control?” Edelman writes that it may be time “to break the cycle of chasing the upside of complexity by adding more complexity.” He argues we should instead aim for simplification by striking the right balance between fast, efficient operations on the one hand and innovation and creative thinking on the other.

The article, Edelman says, is meant to introduce a series where he’ll discuss the way forward, which he states will center on how “AI and creative personalization will drive the next generation of marketing transformation.”

Let me say this to start off: Embrace the Complexity, that is where the Magic Happens. The trick is to transcend the complexity, not retreat from it.

I look forward to digging into the series, because I wholeheartedly agree with him about the power of AI to transform marketing, and I have enjoyed his writing for some time. I do, however, take issue with his position that chasing the upside of complexity (the upside being segment-of-one marketing) necessarily adds more complexity. I will stipulate that, yes, complexity exists and data-focused organizations are facing more complexity by the day, but the technology exists today that does fulfill the promised lift. Instead of shying away from the complexity due to the perceived costs, I would instead argue that like any transformation, the right technology, combined with strategy, process, and change management, make it possible to embrace complexity, control its energy and deliver magic experiences. The benefits of segment-of-one marketing are worth it. This isn’t your grandmother’s marketing anymore. This is high-intensity, high-expectation, high-quality interacting and it is the competitive landscape whether we like it or not. Some of his doubt is surely from the benefits, or lack thereof, that many vendors promise but fail to deliver, which speaks to the “noisiness” of the market and the complete shamelessness of the claims by the vendors.

I was reminded of the increasing complexity when I read a Forbes article on business predictions for 2021, where “customers continue to get smarter” topped the list for the fifth consecutive year. The bar for superior customer service and experience, it says, continues to be raised to unimaginable heights. Standards are being set even higher, and customers will simply not tolerate failures. (96 percent will leave because of poor customer service). That, in a nutshell, is complexity. How do you cope with that? First off, you can’t deny it. It’s happening now. Expectations are solidifying for a seamless customer experience across not just every channel, but every interaction with a company. The delivery of a core brand experience transcends marketing. It’s that important, and it must be met head-on.

Edelman recognizes, rightly, that many marketing organizations deal with the complexity by becoming even more siloed, with focused specialists in a wide range of narrowing disciplines. The problem with this approach is that not only does it kick the can down the road, it also makes it that much harder today to satisfy customer expectations for a holistic customer experience. Data, process and channel siloes cloud a single customer view, making it virtually impossible to engage with a customer with a relevant, personalized experience that is in the context of the customer’s individual buying journey.

Breaking through the complexity starts with technology. Many vendors are jumping into the customer data platform (CDP) space with empty promises to solve for data complexity, but the vast majority just confirm Edelman’s point about chasing complexity by adding more complexity. They over-promise and under-deliver.

These platforms may integrate customer data, but solving for customer data complexity demands far more. It requires integrating customer data from any source and of every type, immediately structuring data at ingest and the application of advanced identity resolution capabilities to create a true single customer view that is updated in real time. A digital customer experience platform that also embeds automated machine learning, a real-time decisioning engine and intelligent orchestration capabilities tackles the inherent complexity, giving marketers a single tool with which to meet customers’ lofty expectations for a seamless, personalized customer experience.

In a Redpoint blog post from earlier this year, I cover in more detail why a lot of marketing technologies fall short of being enterprise-grade technology capable of driving revenue and innovative customer experiences. One reason aligns with something Edelman points out – a misconception from many organizations that achieving true segment-of-one marketing must necessarily introduce complexity, and benefits simply do not outweigh the costs. I believe an acceptance that marketing is a mission-critical department with potential to be the top revenue driver for the enterprise will go a long way toward eliminating any doubt that the effort is indeed worth the time and effort.

The complexity is here to stay. With the right tools and technology in place, facing it does not have to be an uphill battle. In fact, with the right approach, a simpler higher-fidelity interaction can be achieved by defining a customer-centric strategy around the messages they must receive in a specific order and then delivering those via a real-time engine anywhere the customer appears. Think of having a magic capability to land just the right message whenever a person lands on a website, a mobile app or even email at the moment of open. If you have the right analytics it is actually easy to develop the sequence and the various alternatives that may be relevant based on a customer’s behavior. Then imagine an orchestration tool that lands exactly the right message anywhere the customer engages with a brand. That idea is much simpler than how we think of marketing today – and it is possible today with the right preparation of data, analytics, and real-time delivery.

Everything beautiful was once complicated but then magic happens.