Behavioral Targeting and Personalization

Driving Sales Through Marketing Resources and the Power of Humility

OUTdrive Episode 29 with Pat Burke

In this episode of OUTdrive, Cliff visits with Pat Burke, Marketing and Communications Manager at Gavilon Group, LLC, who is passionate about connecting agricultural producers to the global economy to deliver exceptional results.

Read more for their thoughts on behavioral targeting and using data to build personal connections on a global scale. Cliff and Pat also discuss providing your team and customers with the right tools and resources to succeed, the power of humility, the importance of listening in marketing, as well as other key insights to help those marketing to rural America. Check it out!

Leveraging Technology to Build Personal Connections

With an educational interest including studies in psychology, Pat has always been interested in the human element of marketing and consumer behavior. Pat and his team gain insight into their diverse audiences by utilizing new technologies. He shares his thoughts on technology he finds interesting, saying “One of the coolest things that I continue to see is the ability to target a campaign based on behaviors,” he says. “Companies continue to get more elaborate in their ability to understand what I’ve done, how I’ve interacted with their product, how I’ve interacted with their site and the ability to continue fine tuning that.”

Through today’s marketing technology, a campaign may start off broad but can be refined and optimized throughout its duration to deliver optimal results. Consistent monitoring allows us to continuously analyze results and adjust strategies and techniques to create the most impact.

Pat adds to this point, saying, “Whether it’s emails, social media or landing pages, the ability to fine tune to an individual or smaller group of individuals continues to be really powerful and seems to take on a different level every year.” Pat continued, “I know it’s been around for a long time, but there seems to be little improvements every year that really make that personal, one to one connection come to life in marketing efforts. It allows us to start something for everybody and fine tune it until we’ve found the right message for everybody. I love that piece.”

Building personal connections with customers in today’s world requires a commitment to the basics while integrating new technologies for optimal results. Whether it is gaining insights through analytics or listening through individual conversations, it’s about recognizing a need, delivering upon it and continuing to improve.

Listening First

Pat is an experienced communications professional who knows the importance of incorporating change for improvement but also in sticking to the basics. Like many others, he has found that truly listening to audiences is one of the most effective ways to build strong connections and this helps him to meet their needs. Day in and day out, he keeps a pulse on what customers and employees are saying and Gavilon’s communications programs serve as vessels between the different groups. He explains what this looks like during his daily routine.

“I am regularly making calls or walking around our building to talk to folks to see what the health of the company is, what people are saying, what their frustrations are and if they need something,” he says. “I try to make sure that we’re providing the information that each of them needs in real time, and that it’s valuable information.”

Keeping a pulse on all communications allows Pat to develop a stronger understanding of what customers and employees need to meet their goals. It provides insights into the challenges they’re facing and identifies what’s working well and what changes need to be made. He adds to his point, saying, “Most of my role is listening first. Without that, there’s no real way to measure success of any marketing or communications, internal or external.”

Measuring the success of your efforts means listening and seeking out real-time feedback from your audiences. Whether it is feedback from your team to improve internal processes, or gathering insights from customers about resources they need, listening means that you are more prepared to meet those needs in strategic and creative ways.

Driving Sales Through Marketing Resources

For Gavilon, valuable information is distributed through many different channels. As a result of listening, Pat and his team continue to refine and improve their deliverables to provide the most useful resources for employees and customers around the world.

“We have offices in China, Japan, Europe, Mexico, Brazil and other areas,” he says. “A lot of times, our biggest success comes from asking how we can create a tool or a reference for folks to allow them to not only be the experts in their local market, but provide the right tools that their customers need.”

Keeping connected with locations around the world is no easy task, but it proves invaluable to the company and customers. Pat shares some of the resources that have been created as a result of simply listening and delivering. “From a breakeven calculator on our website for farmers, to tools that help people understand the types of contracts that we offer to help manage risks, those are things that came from us listening to what farmers wanted,” he says. “It’s not as much of managing traditional or digital platforms in marketing or communications plans, but really arming our local folks with the right things.”

Cliff summarizes the point perfectly, saying, “That’s marketing at its core: finding out what your customers, employees and other stakeholders need, then providing it.”

No matter your industry, providing valuable information and resources is a win for everybody involved. It improves the lives of those using the solutions or products while establishing your brand as a trusted resource and expert, building brand awareness and credibility.

Agency Marketing, Client Marketing and the Power of Humility

Pat has a unique background and professional experience through his work at an advertising agency prior to joining Gavilon. When asked his thoughts on the differences between working for a marketing agency and a company like Gavilon, Pat recalls, “The beauty of the agency side was the amount of time that I got to learn new things. It was humbling to see people who were great at marketing and understanding budgets and understanding consumers, whether it’s business to business or business to consumer, getting that full scope of what marketing could be. It just gave me a real appreciation for the diversity of marketing.”

Pat went on to share a life lesson he learned from his father about the power of humility saying, “In marketing, you will never be the best at anything, there’s always somebody who’s a better writer than you, who might understand technology better, who has a better sense in programming or something like that. There’s always somebody who’s going to be a little bit better, right? But, being able to have the humility to ask the right people to build the right team, to rely on others, has made all the difference in my career.” Pat went on to say, “That has allowed me to focus on areas that I’m really strong in and I think overall be a better employee, which has effects on our entire brand across the globe.”

Gain additional insight from Pat and Cliff on these topics and more about life and business in rural America in this episode of OUTdrive. Check it out!