More and more companies are looking for data-driven, flexible, and ROI-focused strategies. These are WYperformance’s pillars.
WYperformance is a WYgroup company that focuses on supporting companies, customers, and partners in their digital transformation process, maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage, through integrated digital marketing strategies and creating customer experiences that generate results. The agency’s work is focused on areas of strategic importance to businesses, regardless of the industry they are in or the markets they are in, as Marketeer spoke with WYperformance’s executive director, Ana Fernandes.
What is WYgroup’s digital marketing strategy and how important is WYperformance at implementing marketing strategies integrated with data?
WYperformance works to design optimized sales funnels, implementing digital strategies that lead potential consumers to conversion, transforming them into loyal customers who promote repeat purchases, regardless of whether we are talking about B2B or B2C brands. The combination of these strategies, combined with the fact that companies need to “be found” among hundreds of competitors, makes sure that it’s the best answer to potential customers’ questions through an all-encompassing SEO/Paid Media strategy. Communicating the right message at every stage of the consumer journey is another key area of focus at WYperformance. This means creating data-driven content that’s optimized for search engines based on our consumers’ search intent, the top keywords they use, and their pain points. This content is subsequently amplified on the brands’ social networks and other digital media, using investment in paid media to maximize reach. Hyper-personalization of the message and the consumption experience is also increasingly a demand from consumers, only possible using CRM platforms that support the construction of increasingly reliable consumer profiles, linked to marketing automation platforms, which nurture the relationship and guarantee the delivery of the message at times when our consumer is most predisposed to receive it. The growing number of requests and stimuli to which the consumer is subject implies the construction of digital channels (websites, landing pages, etc.) oriented towards conversion, which lead our consumer to the action we intend, be it acquiring information about a product or service, whether submitting a form with data or purchasing that product or service. For this, it is essential to apply the best UX/UI practices, with measurable tests of all creativity and copy. The increase in the number of leads/opportunities, generated by the marketing actions we implement, means that the monitoring and management processes are optimized using CRM platforms that provide complete visibility of the business pipeline. In this highly competitive environment, WYperformance continues to innovate and invest in technology to maintain its competitive edge.
What tools have been explored by WYperformance to ensure the best possible customer experience in a digital environment?
Our focus has been on optimizing the experience, ensuring an easy and direct path to conversion. To do this, we use neurological assessment techniques, market research, and consumer studies. Answers to questions such as “Why doesn’t my website work?”, “Why doesn’t my product sell?”, “why didn’t my campaign convert?”, can be answered when we “see” and “feel ” the behavior of users/consumers. Our Neuromarketing Lab answers these and many other questions, along with additional surveys and/or interviews with consumers. This data helps to explain and demystify some “mysteries” of digital marketing.
One of the most important points for the future of digital is data acquisition. How important is data collection for digital marketing strategies?
Data is at the core of every business. It powers daily operations, informs decision-making, and fuels innovation. At WYperformance, data is part of our DNA and the foundation of every digital strategy we create and execute. To optimize a digital strategy, we need to be able to measure its impact quantifiably. Through data, we adapt our communications, channels, and messaging, refine and enhance our goals, and optimize our investments. A digital campaign without data is a waste of investment. Nowadays, many companies still do not have a clear understanding of their data ecosystem. Marketing departments are managed using Excel sheets, rather than using systemic, information-aggregating bases. The difference will be even clearer in the future, as our ability to collect and analyze this data, extracting insights that support companies’ decision-making process in marketing, implementation, and optimization of campaigns, will be essential to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and ensure a high return on your investments.
Since consumers are less willing to fill out forms (without benefiting from them), how does WYperformance support companies with data collection?
More and more, we’re forced to find creative ways to capture and lead consumers to give us their data. Speaking of benefits, they don’t always have to be tangible, like product offers and discount codes. Consumers want information, and this can be one of the ways to gather data through the creation of data-informed, personalized content that addresses their key pain points. It’s one of the areas of WYperformance’s expertise, which we’ve demonstrated with various national and international clients. Another extremely important issue in data collection is ensuring data security. This is one of the main objections consumers have when it comes to sharing personal data. Ensuring that brands convey this image of transparency and trust while investing in the infrastructure to protect that same data, is also the work of WYperformance. We are probably one of the only digital marketing agencies to have a dedicated Data Protection Officer on its team.
If the present is digital, could the future be dependent on Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How important is this tool for digital marketing?
The tools and platforms we use daily include AI and machine learning algorithms, whether linked to campaign management, SEO, CRM, automation, or even web design. AI tools speed up and optimize information processing, but the success of actions remains dependent on the available data. AI can only deliver high-quality results when it’s backed by solid data that accurately reflects the reality we’re trying to analyze. Generating the right data set remains an integral part of the agency’s work and relies on the expertise and creativity of our experts. We believe that in the coming years, these tools will play an increasingly important role in all operational functions. The agency will increasingly have to play the role of a strategist. To do this, we need the best digital marketing specialists on our teams.
Some experts still view AI with skepticism, either because of concerns about data privacy or because of legal and ethical considerations.
What is your vision?
Resistance to change is one of the inherent characteristics of human beings, especially when faced with such disruptive innovations. My engineering background leads me to look at these innovations, not with skepticism, but with curiosity to know how I can apply them to improve my work and that of everyone who works with me. That said, a careful analysis of risks is essential, as is the regulation that establishes the limits of ethical and responsible use. We all constantly hear the buzzwords of “fake news”, misinformation, the manipulation of reality, and the creation of false images. It is up to us all, as responsible and ethical professionals, to guarantee the quality, authenticity, and veracity of all work carried out and delivered by our organizations.
How can we define WYperformance’s social network strategies and how brands currently use them?
The strategies designed by WYperformance and the platforms that incorporate these same strategies are specific to each client and determined by an exhaustive analysis of their respective business objectives, the markets in which they operate, the competition they target, and the consumers to whom their product or service is intended. Our strong presence in the international market, with several clients in markets that access platform news first, such as the United States, allows us to test and implement digital marketing strategies, using formats and business models before they are made available. for the national market. It was like this with TikTok ads, which we implemented for American clients in that market, long before they were a reality in Portugal. Our experience tells us that many companies are missing opportunities due to fear of using certain platforms. One of these platforms is TikTok, which is an increasingly visible trend in the national market. The network was born under the label of a platform for teenagers, but in reality, it has very important potential for various types of brands and businesses. The delivery of a pragmatic, visual, moving, explanatory, and repetitive message serves many business models and we have seen some good examples of dissemination and monetization, which the conservatism of many brands prevents them from embracing. TikTok has now launched a feature that allows you to advertise in searches made within the platform, a feature that until now was led by Google.
Some of the most popular digital marketing platforms include real-time messaging platforms, short video platforms, and influencer marketing platforms. What are the most popular formats today?
I would say that more than a trend, they are the reality of many brands with well-defined communication strategies. The use of short videos, for example, is content with the best digital results at all levels in the last 5/6 years, whether in leads, engagement, or brand awareness. What we can consider a trend is the replacement of the role of influencers with the role of content creators. A content creator assumes his connection to a brand and works towards its objectives, but is seen as real and trustworthy by the target audience. We have had incredible results working with e-Commerce and lead generation with targeted ads, produced by content creators, following our creative briefs. Influencers are also part of some of the strategies we implement, with proven results, as these, working above all on their personal brand and being credible experts in the content areas they work in, can become a fruitful partnership for brands.
In the American market, we implemented whitelisting campaigns for some of our clients. The difference between these campaigns and a traditional influencer campaign is that the influencer gives us access to their ad account on the platform, with the agency being responsible for promoting the posts and creating ads based on the influencer’s content. This allows us to maximize the brand’s investment, optimizing campaign performance, with all the know-how of our campaign managers, ensuring that the message reaches the effective target, but more genuinely and uniquely, through the influencer’s account.
And at WYperformance, what trends do you project for the coming years?
The big trend will be the hyper-personalization of the message, combining the potential of AI platforms, with machine learning, advanced analytics, and the production of data-driven content. This level of relevance, which meets the needs and pain points of each consumer, will give rise to more efficient marketing campaigns, with a greater return on investment, while for the consumer they will be seen as less intrusive, creating a new level of relationship. ment with brands. All of this is only possible with a data structure representative of the different consumer segments, which has great support from robust CRM platforms and allows us to build increasingly complete consumer profiles. We believe that influencer marketing will increasingly evolve towards micro-influencers and content creators, ensuring a more authentic approach to our target audience. On the other hand, issues such as sustainability and the environment are becoming increasingly important, with consumers increasingly scrutinizing companies regarding their ESG policies and demanding socially and environmentally responsible marketing strategies. It is with this concern in mind – being a disseminator of good practices and an influencer of behavior with a focus on sustainability principles – that we joined Grace – Responsible Companies.
Interview originally published at Marketeer.
