March 2019

Digital Age: How to Communicate in This Scenario

Platform

Intelligent objects that transfer large amounts of data in real time creating a more integrated and inclusive scenario. But also a simple and personal communication that takes place in proximity: welcome to the Digital Age.

The teachings of the School of Palo Alto were right: one cannot do without communicating. However today, even more than 50 years later, what we communicate and how we do it fits into a more complex scenario, that of the digital age, which has introduced new communication channels such as mobile devices, but also intelligent subjects, for example, modifying the dynamics with which the relationship with our interlocutor is established, adding a further dimension: the online one.

It is precisely in this dimension that technology favors emotional and personal dynamics similar to those that are developed in a face to face dialogue, reducing the distance between brands and consumers, which is told through a new language made of actions, habits, and desires that must be interpreted to build a unique relationship and an exclusive experience that engages them before, along and even after their customer journey.

Digital Age keywords you should know

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Digital transformation indicates a process of change in the different areas of a society, a result of the availability and the consequent widespread use of new technologies. The starting point and goal of digitalization is the final recipient who, being able to access and use products and services with ease, becomes an active part in attributing to their value.

In fact, digitalization favors a convergence of systems and information flows, both at the level of business processes and business models, and in relation to its customers who expect more personalized and engaging experiences from companies.

Tips: digitizing the workflows simplifies the whole activities, making information and content more accessible, thus creating a more integrated and interconnected context through different technologies.

INTERNET OF THINGS

Internet of Things or (IoT) refers to real objects, a refrigerator, a clock, or even, a sensor placed at a traffic light in a city, that can connect to the network to monitor, control and transfer information which then carries out consequent actions. The object is, in fact, able to interact with the surrounding world, because it is endowed with “intelligence”. It retrieves and transfers information between the internet and the real world, thus creating a more interconnected and integrated context. Initiatives such as the smart city project, where the use of technology makes the traditional services more efficient, improving the quality of life of citizens, even the packaging of food products improved upon such objects that can transfer important information on the quality of the product, the way it was produced and its supply chain, are now made possible.

Tips: to ensure that the Internet of Things works properly, it is important to process, collect, and analyze large volumes of data in real time (Big Data) through the objects connected to the network, and therefore that of the integrated systems that manage the flow of information.

BIG DATA

Related to information, big data means a large aggregation of data. For such data to be analyzed and managed, there is a need for technologies that can combine both structured data and non-structural data generated by the web like posts on blogs, comments on social media, text documents, audio, and video.

Tips: Big data can be used in an interpretative or predictive analysis to reveal trends and associations, especially in relation to human behaviors and interactions.

PROXIMITY MARKETING

Proximity Marketing is a form of marketing based on the user’s location. Exploiting the criteria of proximity between people, points of interest or objects (a monument, a work of art or the shelf of a shop) it gets to potential customers when they are near a relevant place. Taking advantage of the potential of mobile technologies, proximity activities allow you to add the context variable to your communication strategy, thus delivering more targeted content and planning more precise actions.

Tips: use it to promote products and services in line with the purchasing habits of clients directly on their smartphone through technologies such as beacons (Bluetooth devices), WiFi, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), NFC (Near Field Communication), and tools like apps and web platforms.

CONTEXTUAL MOBILE ENGAGEMENT

Contextual Mobile Engagement, that is the involvement of the user (Engagement) in a specific scenario in search for something (Contextual), through an app installed on its smartphone (Mobile), represents the evolution of the concept of Proximity. By choosing the geographical, temporal and behavioral context in which app users must find themselves when interacting with the app, it is possible to reach and involve them in the most opportune moment, that is when they are more predisposed to live a specific experience.

Tips: use it to communicate in the right place and at the most appropriate time with the users most interested in a product and a service, making them participate in a new brand experience through mobile communication technologies such as beacon (Bluetooth devices), WiFi, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), NFC (Near Field Communication), and tool like app and web platforms.