Not everyone feels comfortable in digital communication, it is usually cold and leads to misunderstandings. In addition, we are saturated with so much information (not always useful) and sometimes we do not even know if it is a person or a bot who is on the other side.

This article is aimed at those who recognize the unquestionable barrier between brand and customer, unable to explain your products / services face to face, and seek advice to alleviate this deficiency of digital channels. The big secret: Segmentation of your audience. Segmenting, or categorizing your customers according to their demographic data and their tastes, will allow you to talk to them in their preferred channels, find the key to what they need and find out their consumption habits. This together with a good testing strategy will make it easier for you to break the digital media barrier.

A very typical mistake is to choose the channels to promote your products / services based on the personal preferences of the person in charge of advertising. The initial market analysis with the segmentation of your audience should include the websites where they enter, top locations, the type of networks they use, etc. You can find out all this through the demographic and socioeconomic profile, using geo-location tools such as Indigitall's ‘geofencing’, doing a survey of your clients to acquire this knowledge or visiting the statistics of the social networks you use.

2. Customize your message, not everyone will be interested in everything you have to say. As in traditional sales, it is important to know what to sell to each customer. The big difference is that this task previously fell on the seller and was more intuitive. For example, if our product is a make-up brand, depending on who opened the door, the seller could propose one type of makeup instead. The digital version of this information could be to include a column in your database that lets you know what products each registered customer has bought, or make a survey to know their skin tone and type, or segment your Adwords ad groups by words like "dry skin makeup", etc. Once you have done this segmentation you can customize the message that reaches each group.

3. Be loyal to your brand and its values. Your brand has its personality, its tone, and its age. These things are good because it allows customers to take care of a brand. But you have to be consistent and it is important that all employees understand what these elements are to be kept constant, both offline and online. Your brand may be characterized by its closeness, daring, professionalism, modernity or innovation. Whatever it is, apply it in the communication channels.

4. Speak to each customer segment in a language/tone with which you both feel comfortable. Having mentioned the previous point, each segment may also need small nuances. It is the equivalent of you, as an individual, using a slightly different language if you address a 65-year-old woman or an 18-year-old woman. You are still you, but there are nuances in the way you speak. The segmentation of your customers will also allow your brand to create "versions" of itself to better adapt to each group.

5. Give confidence, be transparent. When ignoring the voice, tone or volume with which things are being told in written online communication, it is especially important that you are close and transparent to give confidence. This can be done by sharing photos of the team on the networks, mentioning your collaborators or telling things that happen in the office. Try not to be too formal, since in writing it may sound cold or even unkind.

6. A/B test of your hypotheses: Many of the previous decisions will be based on your intuition and experience, this is very good but they are still hypotheses that must be confirm and that we must continue confirming over time. For example, families may have changed shopping habits during the last 5 years based on new food studies and this could mean the need for a change in the message you propose for this customer segment. Find media that, as in Indigitall, have A/B test tools.

7. Give an answer to comments made about you. Nobody is perfect and failures are forgiven if the response is quick, personalized and shows a desire to improve. Although you customize each answer, it is good to have a protocol to avoid “hot” responses. It is always good that they come from a specific person in the company, especially if you have a small business, to remind the client that it is people who are on the other side.

We hope that these tips will help you create valuable and lasting communication with your customers, centralizing your strategy in the correct segmentation and customization as we advise you from indigitall. If you need more information you can download our white papers.