Consumer engagement strategies are becoming a focus that’s rising in popularity across all industries for overall success. Having worked in the consumer products industry for over 25 years now, it is clear that the most successful organizations have always had the consumer at the center of everything they do.  However, it seems as if this imperative is more pronounced than ever, with an increasing number of companies looking to develop a consumer-centric strategy that will allow it to better serve today’s ever-changing consumer and unlock accelerated growth. Listen to previous episodes here.

Consumer engagement and consumer engagement strategies could be defined or outlined in many different ways.  And, in most cases, that definition is very much dependent upon the unique nuances of your business model and the categories you compete in.  However, foundationally, consumer engagement specifically requires a two-way interaction with a primary focus on ensuring that the strategy and tactics deployed are relevant, personal and authentic to the consumer.  Without that, many consumer engagement strategies have and will continue to fall flat.

This week, I am excited to sit down with Idoia Hidalgo from Clarkston Consulting.  Idoia has background in brand marketing from the CP industry and has a broad scope of experiences across brand strategy, communication, innovation and e-commerce.  In addition, and very relevant to this discussion, Idoia is passionate about consumer engagement strategies and works with clients to ensure that they have the right strategies, tactics and measures in place to ensure success.

In this discussion, we will take an attempt at defining consumer engagement and how and where it intersects with digital marketing.  In addition, we will hit upon the topic of consumer advocacy and how the right consumer engagement strategies will help you both facilitate and learn from the conversations that are taking place in the market about your brands.  Finally, Idoia will share some of the tactical steps that are required for effective consumer engagement, including the identification of personas, knowing and understanding your consumer, aligning those personas with your business in a way that makes sense and building a model based on those identified points of intersection.

You can download and listen to Consumer Engagement Strategies: Taking Stock with Idoia Hidalgo here.

Taking Stock

In this podcast series, Clarkston Consulting Partner Steve Rosenstock sits down with experts and thought leaders from both within Clarkston and throughout its consumer products and life sciences client-base, covering a range of topics from industry trends and consumer dynamics, to organizational governance and business strategy. Steve provides you access into the passions of its guests and allows you to benefit from their stories, knowledge, and deep expertise.

Podcast production by Zach McClughen