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Written by: Lonoy Ding

Edited by: Wilbur Zhu (WeChat ID: aotokuer), Anna HU , Hailee Bu, Olivia Huang

                                           Shang Huixin, Senior Marketing Director, 360

Marketing is of utmost importance to any brand, and the development of Internet technology has provided means of marketing with more possibilities. Shang Huixin, Senior Marketing Director of 360, shared with us at FBIF2017 how to build a more effective bridge between brands and consumers through Internet.

How does the Internet help Enterprises to Create Customers?

Ms Shang thinks that the Internet can bring precise marketing through big data. For instance, with the help of big data, 360 discovered that people's favorite foreign beverage brand in China is Coca-Cola. What makes it more interesting is that the least favorite one is Coca-Cola as well. After further analysis, 360 found that actually all the brands were on both lists. Today's consumers have more personalized preference and perception and a much clearer brand product appeal.

Figure: Consumers' preference for Food and Beverage Brands

What Is Consumers' Major Concern When They Choose Products?

Once again, 360 has found through big data that as  technology upgrades, people care less about the cost performance of products, but turn attention to pursue brand and quality. With regard to the food industry, we have following findings:

1. Today we have a lot more Foodies, but they also have higher health requirements. Not only 360 search results but also the overall online habit suggest that the number of Foodies is growing. Food is our fundamental necessity, we need food and water whenever and wherever we are. But as people’s consumption logic and behavior change, the demand for high-end and imported food is increasing year by year.

2. Consumers prefer healthy and high-quality products. 360 data discover that people pay more attention to their health and the quality of a brand. Take mineral water as an example, what used to just quench our thirst now makes a difference because of its packaging or brand.

Figure: Consumers' attention towards mineral water brands

3. Male care more about nutrition than female. We tend to think that girls are more aware of the health concept. Big data analysis tells us, however, as girls eat more puffing food and drink more carbonated beverages, they become more sensible when choosing products. On the other hand, while we used to think boys prefer to drink carbonated beverages and beers, they've begun to have a better health awareness. So what's unexpected is that boys actually have better moderation and higher brand appeal than girls.

In the whole process of brand marketing, where we used to sense which group of people matched with the brand, we've now seen the deviation between their actual behavior and our expectation. In supervising the matching degree between products and consumers, 360 big data do one thing for the marketing process: Help brands to find people, the right people.

How Does Internet Big Data Help to Find the Right People?

360 records nearly 30.8 billion searching or browsing behaviors from users every day. We have built a big-data behavior chain to improve user experience on both PC and mobile ends, and even in real life. 360 has many smart hardware products that provide real-time data about users’ purchase behaviors, Internet usage and brand appeal. In fact, behavior chain big data do nothing but clarifying, what users are doing in which background, what brand appeal they have. So in the whole process, users are divided according to demographic characteristics, their preference, access path and purchase behaviors. 360 will make a comprehensive analysis and generate data reports.

It is, however, not enough to just find the right people. We also have to think about how to present our brand naturally rather than abruptly. Instead of letting consumers relate it to advertising, 360 hopes to present products in more interesting ways and follow users’ needs in promotion, so that consumers change from passive receivers to active users who are willing to click or look through the website. While analyzing data, we discover that innovative marketing has a huge pulling effect on consumers' understanding and purchasing of snack food products. Innovative marketing can strengthen the interaction and connection between consumers and brands. Ms Shang gave us a vivid example. At eleven or twelve o’clock you will find yourself starving after half-day’s work. If it suddenly rains chicken wings on your computer screen, you are bound to click through and search for food or promotions. From passive to active marketing means getting closer to consumers.

To add color to marketing, Ms Shang offered another example. If a Snickers or energy food productappears when people recharge their phone battery, the product can be better connected to the brand and find echo in consumers. Both packaging and brand appeal suggest that consumers are expecting better interaction.

With the rapid development of Industry 4.0, utilizing the Internet and big data to achieve more precise marketing has become a new tendency. Meanwhile, 360 never ceases to explore how to connect brands and consumers in a more interesting and profound way.