I disagree with the term “Single Customer View” (SCV) – often used to describe the process of pulling together and integrating customer data from across multiple channels into a single platform. The term is outdated and overused across the marketing industry and very rarely, if ever, accurate. But I do agree with the underlying message: that an integrated approach offers huge opportunities and benefits, such as greater cohesion across the business and improved customer relationships.
So why are companies failing to recognise the single greatest benefit of a SCV - the untapped potential of acting on data collected in real time?
Put simply, their underlying databases are holding them back.
These systems are much like “SCV” itself – outdated and overused. They struggle to process the vast amount of data they’re required to hold, as well as the increasing complexity of online data.
This article offers a few thoughts on how businesses can make the leap to real-time capabilities, and why this is something they should be thinking about right now.
The role of the database in multi-channel marketing
Many marketers – although they wouldn’t admit it – are afraid of data and databases, aware of them as a basic background tool which stores semi-important customer data, but not proactively looking to grasp the opportunities that data presents. This data is then neglected and poorly captured and processed, often creating disparate views of customer records from across different business areas.
So what does the future hold for the marketing database?
In the near future, we’ll see a shift from outdated, legacy technology to a hybrid model – a combination of the traditional structural database with a more modern, non-SQL database. Through its ability to handle the processing requirements associated with the rise of Big Data, the latter of these offers quicker performance from and easier access to vast quantities of data. More importantly, it gives users the ability to deep-dive into customer information and draw out insights in real-time.
This is a huge opportunity for businesses. If fragmented data can be integrated and analysed effectively, it can offer valuable intel into customer behaviour and product sets.
Gartner suggests that “by 2018, organisations that have fully invested in all types of online personalisation will outsell companies that have not by more than 30%.” By enabling a truly tailored customer experience – real-time technology becomes a real differentiator in this area. It offers organisations a critical edge over competitors in today’s saturated market -driving customer engagement, website traffic, overall sales and customer advocacy by delivering marketing strategies catered to customer preferences.
A real world example of this could involve tracking online browsing behaviour, and offering staff on the sales floor access to this information. Take a customer who is interested in photography and who’s shopping around for an advanced camera. This isn’t an impulse buy– they will have likely spent hours researching and reading around online prior to investing the time and effort of popping into their local branch to finally make the purchase. In an ideal world, a salesperson will be made aware that said customer has been looking at a certain camera online – equipping them to provide the right support and advice, such as recommending their most popular “how to” guide when the customer steps in-store.
Customer experiences in retail – the future is now
The evolution of marketing databases to provide real-time insight doesn’t only benefit businesses through improved knowledge of customer behaviour, it also opens the door for wider innovation throughout the entire customer experience. One trend we expect to see is the uptake of wearable technology and the opportunities this presents for marketers. With global retail revenue from smart wearable devices expected to reach $53.2 billion by 2019 (Juniper Research), wearables offer a promising new platform through which to engage customers, while presenting a previously untapped rich source of customer data.
Combined with real-time marketing technologies, the ability to track data around customer health, emotional conditions and daily routines allows marketers to personalise customer engagement strategies to an extent never seen before. The rise of wearable technologies and smart clothing enables data collection on an unprecedented scale – if analysed effectively, businesses can communicate with customers in a far more relevant and timely manner.
Again - to put this in perspective - a leading health and fitness brand may be able to collect relevant data on a customer’s fitness levels and exercise patterns over time. After drilling down into the data, it becomes apparent that the customer’s average 10km run time is slower first thing in the morning than last thing at night. With this knowledge at their disposal, the health and fitness company has the ability to send personalised offers (via the customers’ preferred device) at the most appropriate time for products such as nutrition drinks to help increase their average running time in the morning, as well as the location of their nearest outlets.
Linked to this, wearables also offer an exciting platform through which to apply and take advantage of the geo-location and geo-fencing services now readily available. Many retailers are looking into the potential applications for iBeacon technology, such as John Lewis who have recently highlighted their belief in this technology with a £100,000 investment in Localz – a ‘micro-location’ tech start-up. iBeacon technology effectively allows businesses to connect with existing and potential customers through their mobile device – enabling communications such as product promotions and news alerts to be pushed directly to the most relevant customers within a certain radius.
Are your processes up to scratch?
While the strategies mentioned above sound like a marketer’s dream, none of this becomes a reality until the underlying marketing databases receive the attention they deserve.
With data protection becoming an increasing focus across the media, consumers are becoming acutely aware of the implications associated with “giving up” their data. While this is one potential pitfall surrounding the gathering and use of data in real-time, customers that do agree to give companies access to their data then expect to be rewarded with a perfectly tailored marketing approach. Sending the wrong email, at the wrong time, to the wrong type of customer, can lose you their business in a heartbeat.
The promised land of customer engagement
While the primary shift to the latest technology requires a significant investment in terms of capital and resources, having the most effective tools available can offer tangible improvements; streamlining the customer experience and making engagement with customers throughout their journey a reality.
Once the initial investment has been made, marketing automation technology can take over – freeing up valuable time and resources which can be otherwise spent on adding value to the wider business.
I’m a huge advocate of the opportunities presented by real-time data and urge any marketers to take the plunge and invest in upgrading - the future is now, make sure you don’t miss it.
By Matthew Kelleher, Chief Commercial Officer at RedEye.
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus