Top Trends in Data

It’s 2015, and companies are finally getting the hang of data.

Big data has been around for years so it’s about time! More and more companies are using data to profile their customers to generate relevant products and marketing strategies. A study by Forbes and Teradata found that 78% of marketers are incorporating data into their marketing.

As companies explore the possibilities behind data analytics, we have noticed a few trends in the datasphere. Companies that choose to incorporate these trends in their marketing strategies may notice an increase in ROI and an edge over their competitors.

Unsiloing data

Companies are beginning to break down barriers in data sharing. Un-siloing data allows different departments to combine different data sets. A company’s entire stock of customer information may be stored in one simple Data Management Platform. This storage system makes finding, organizing and sharing information an easier, more efficient process.

For example, a company’s IT department may have an impressive set of internal customer information. That same company’s marketing department may have a large collection of CRM data. Companies that unsilo data pool together both sets of information, creating a single in-depth consolidation of data.

The larger data pool is beneficial to both IT and marketers, as the departments will have access to a more complete profile of their customers. This will help both departments provide a more accurate understanding of their customers, generating a more personalized, relevant shopping experience.

Privacy

Over the past year, information security and privacy has been a growing concern amongst the public. With big security breaches like the Sony hack and the iCloud celebrity photo scandal, privacy is a growing concern for many.

In response to public concern about security, companies must employ data protection and safeguarding into their data management. Companies that cannot confidently ensure that a person’s private information will stay private, the likelihood of data sharing will decrease.

Nordstrom clearly outlines its privacy policy to build trust between buyers and itself.
Nordstrom clearly outlines its privacy policy to build trust between buyers and itself.

Additionally, easy-to-access privacy policies can increase trust between customers and a company. Provide an in-depth statement informing customers of their privacy rights can increase likelihood of sharing personal information.

Other than putting the public at ease, companies with protective measures in data management will have less risk at security breaches. Data encryption, multiple passwords and security audits may take a little extra and effort. But investing time into safeguarding customer information is vital to prevent big scandals and data breaches.

Data in Real-Time

Companies are beginning to use data in real-time to engage and connect with consumers. In the past, data has been used to create content for consumers, and is set to be viewed at a certain point in time.

Today’s marketers are integrating data and marketing strategies in real-time, to offer content that is even more current and relevant. This real-time marketing is commonly seen across social media platforms.

Nissan UK creates relevant messages by integrating real-time events into its social media marketing
Nissan UK also creates relevant messages by integrating real-time events into its social media marketing.

Google’s Fifa World Cup campaign is a prime example of real-time data integration. By analyzing Google’s search engine, data experts curated sharable images and facts for its users. This later fueled more discussion about relevant topics for Google users. This real-time analysis helps businesses understand why their target audiences share, engage and spread content.

As data analytics becomes increasingly popular, we expect that companies will employ a real-time data/marketing strategy similar to Google’s. Companies will begin to utilize social media more often, allowing their customers to share, engage and spread content easier.

More Personalization

Personalization has been a hot topic since data was first introduced to the marketing world. And, as more companies grow friendlier with data, feelings toward personalization are sure to follow suit.

Personalization increase also directly correlates with the shift of millennials as the largest purchasing power. As millennials are generally more open to sharing personal information, companies can adjust marketing to incorporate a more personalized, 1:1 marketing feel. A global study by SDL found that 46% of millennials are willing to provide personal information to businesses, in order to get rid of irrelevant marketing.

Netflix personalizes content by providing recommendations based off past interests.
Netflix – a millennial favorite – personalizes content by providing recommendations based off past interests.

As data continues to evolve, understanding where data is headed can be a big asset to companies. Anticipating changes in data and adjusting strategies accordingly can help your company stand out amongst competitors and remain a consumer favorite.

3 Marketing Trends of 2014

Mobile Personalization

Marketing is just like any other tradition here in the United States: as time progresses it begins to change and adapt to new trends that emerge. In 2014, the marketing world has had a lot of new developments thanks to the innovations such as mobile apps, social media, big data breakthroughs, and other discoveries. As a result, there has been a noticeable shift in how marketers create their strategies to promote products and services. Today, we will discuss 3 of these new marketing trends that have emerged in 2014.

1. Don’t Just Personalize, Hyper-Personalize In 2013, personalization was the name of the marketing game. How was this accomplished exactly? By tracking spending habits and recording clicks while signed in to their website. Then the companies would take that information and use it to send personalized offers via email, text or through the website. Hyperpersonalization takes this one step further. By integrating various existing data sets such as personal information and social media data, companies are able to know more about their customers than just their spending data. For example, utilizing information from Susan’s Facebook page, a company might be able to learn that Susan is expecting a baby in a few months and to send her offers for baby clothes. Hyperpersonalization is like knowing what the customer wants before they actually want it

2. Measure Social Media ROI Accurately Measuring ROI from social media in the past has been anything but exact. Every company that has invested in social media has had a different method of measuring the effectiveness of their social media efforts with varied results. In the past, companies measured their social media success by how much revenue it directly generated for them. While this may work for other marketing avenues, it may not necessarily work for social media. In 2014, measuring social media ROI has evolved from looking at revenue generated to the buzz that is created from the efforts put in. Creating buzz around a company will increase a company’s audience and engagement by increasing word of mouth; hence the word “viral”. Understanding how to optimize content to go viral is key in the success of social media implementation.

Mobile Personalization

3. Real Time Geographic Marketing Geographic marketing is not a new innovation. It has been around since the early days albeit in a more primitive fashion; for example, a large billboard perched above a building has an arrow which points down, indicating it is a restaurant to stop at while driving. Over the past few years email has been the primary source of geographic marketing by sending offers to customers within certain distances from companies. In 2014 this will be taken one step further. With the rise in mobile device usage, real-time geographic marketing will be employed by sending SMS messages or emails to customers’ mobile devices when they are certain distance from a company. So if I am in a mall looking for a gift, I might get an SMS on my phone alerting me that a clothing store in the same mall has a sale. That is the power and convenience or geographic marketing.

Marketing will always have a place in any business strategy because it is the most basic form of communicating with potential customers. The best way to look at is summed up in the expression: “The players haven’t changed, but the game has.” By staying on top of the newest developments one can expect to enjoy the benefits of being top of mind.

 

 

Achieving Conversion with Website Personalization

marketing personalization

Delivering a hyper-personalized email marketing campaign isn’t the only avenue to delivering relevant content and offers to each and every customer. Website personalization gives customers access to a personalized onsite experience.

What’s the difference between a personalized and non-personalized website?

Non-Personalized – The content presented is the same for all customers and lacks personalization. Finding desired products and content relies on search and navigation. The customer must first select an item before it’s presented to them.

Personalized – The content presented is controlled, targeted and based on your big data. When a customer clicks through, targeted products and offers will be displayed based on their browsing history, purchases made, website behavior, lifestyle, etc.

As a marketer you want every customer to experience something personal and relevant. In doing so, you need to act on big data insights to segment and deliver personalized experiences in real time. This, in turn, drives higher conversions and revenue.

How can you turn non-personalized into personalized?

Personalized Greeting – When a customer clicks through, have a personalized greeting such as, “Welcome back, Mrs. Jones.”

Personalized Options – This includes the option to view account information, edit and update profile, add a profile picture and once click features that pulls in targeted information.

Visible Browsing History – Let’s say Mrs. Jones was shopping for workout apparel and had viewed a dozen items. Before making a purchase she was interrupted and had to step away for a few hours. When she returns and clicks through, a visible browsing history would pull in the items she’s previously viewed. This prevents Mrs. Jones from having to re-search the items.

Personalized Content – When a customer clicks through, it’s important to have a hyper-personalized landing page based on preferences, browsing & purchase history, profile etc. Mrs. Jones has browsed and purchased workout apparel and home office solutions.  The landing page, or a portion of the content, should address her needs and preferences.

How to make Big Data personal with Segmentation

marketing personalizationWho says Big Data can’t be personalized?

Within the realms of marketing campaigns, generalization is not a word you want to embrace. Sending identical, generic mass emails to your entire customer base across the board  isn’t the route you want to take. This only leads to poor customer retention, customer dissatisfaction and your emails ending up in the virtual trash bin…unopened.

When you’ve got data, you need to leverage it in order to communicate relevant and targeted messages. The content within these emails need to be useful, have purpose and address the needs of your customers in real time.

In order to efficiently segment your data, you need to conduct an analysis based on existing data and decide the target groups you want to approach. Applying segmentation to  your data allows you to create email marketing campaigns that are relevant for each group.  Segmenting is also a key process that disperses information, products and offers to designated groups that’s specific to their needs and interests.

Segmentation can be based on many factors according to demographics, behavioral, lifecycle, occasions, social data, past purchase history, spending habits, age, gender, website activity, etc.  By segmenting all of this data, you’re identifying the various levels of your database and sending out cost-effecting email campaigns that are tailored to each group. Without segmenting data efficiently, it’s difficult to produce targeted information. Not to mention, it’s a waste of time when you’re sending out products & offers that are of no use to your customers.

Segmentation is typically based on the amount of data you have on individual customers and making the most of it. This can be obtained through social data, CRM, past purchase history, website activity, demographic, etc. It’s the process of dividing your customers into logical groups and tailoring emails targeting their interests, triggers, lifecycles, website behavior, and purchase history.  Nectar suite automatically segments customers based on lifetime value and engagement.

Nectar’s products allows your brand to hyper-personalize communications with the right offers and products in real time that’ll drive revenue.

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