In today’s uncertain economy, brands and retailers are expected to do much more with much less. In fact, according to the survey Bazaarvoice conducted of over 400 brands and retailers from six countries (UK, US, Canada,Germany, France, and Australia), 61% of respondents said the recession would impact their budget. Of these, 81% expect to reduce their

marketing budget, and 34% expect to reduce their team’s headcount.

However, at the same time that we are being asked to make the most of so little, shoppers’ cravings for personalized and engaging experiences, as well as high-quality alluring content, are higher than ever before. So, how are brands expected to keep pace with these shopper demands? The voice of the customer is key.

Today, while content remains king and queen, context – where, when, and how – rules. One key aspect of context is the channel placement. If our goal is to engage, we should think about where our customers and consumers are hanging out, what we call watering holes. Having a holistic, company-wide content and channel mix strategy is key, especially as shoppers have shifted where they research, shop and where they buy. In other words, being there at their watering holes is paramount.  

Let’s take a look at the current reality: 61% of respondents to our survey said their e-commerce, content, and social resources sit on different teams. While 70% of these teams report they are fully aligned on content production and placement, the remaining 30% are only somewhat or not aligned on content and channel efforts. And only 17% of brands and retailers have a centralized budget that does not divide paid, earned, shared, and owned (PESO) efforts.

In conversations with my cohorts, many confirmed that paid media is getting less effective, harder to manage, and more difficult to measure. Less than half (47%) of our survey respondents said they can measure the success of their paid advertising activities, while 48% reported they could “somewhat” measure their paid performance. 

Shoppers are not keen on paid media, in fact, 36% said paid advertising does not do anything for them. And yet, we marketers and media budget owners default to paid media habitually. I am thrilled to see that over half of our respondents are feeling less confident in measuring paid performance and in fact are deprioritizing paid media. A vast majority (82%) of respondents are moving or considering moving paid media budgets to owned and earned content channels.

On the rise is the focus on shared content and shared media.  POE (paid owned earned) as many of us know, is now becoming PESO: paid, earned, shared, and owned. Take commerce as an example – 62% surveyed said they have a robust strategy in place around social commerce (social content, shopping and buying on social media), and one out of four brands are currently formulating it.

Other user-generated content like reviews, Q&A, and quotes also play an important part in content that is used in a brand’s shared strategy. Over three-quarters (78%) of people say product reviews from other customers are the most influential factor in their purchase decisions. 86% of our survey respondents believe that more authentic user-generated content in their paid and owned media would improve the performance of their ads and content.

To meet consumer expectations and demand while also being fiscally responsible in recessionary times, brands and retailers need to create a cohesive content and channel mix that allows them to optimize the content supply chain and channel mix, inclusive of paid, earned, shared, and owned. I call this an ‘AND’ strategy and just like in any investment portfolio, a balanced one. It balances the supply and demand for content and content consumption at the right place, at the right time, and the right context. 

As CMO of Bazaarvoice, Zarina Lam Stanford leads with a customer-centric, insights-driven, and outcome-based approach to all aspects of marketing. A recognized growth catalyst, Zarina is passionate about design thinking, the art and science of being relevant, agile leadership, inclusion, and being purpose-driven. Before joining Bazaarvoice, Zarina was Chief Communications & Marketing Officer of Rackspace Technology and held sales and marketing executive positions at IBM tenure at public and PE/VC portfolio firms including IBM, SAP, Syniti, and Rackspace Technology. A champion for diversity and inclusion and a global citizen, Zarina has in-depth hands-on experience in global and regional markets, including North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific & Japan.