It's no secret that the best marketers deliver personalized, dynamic content to their customers in real time. How can your brand start on the real-time path? I delivered this presentation at IBM Connect in Orlando, Florida, in January 2013. It lays out five questions to ask when laying the foundations for a real-time marketing strategy.

1. Maximize the Moment with
Real-Time Engagement
Erin Jaeger, IBM
© 2014 IBM Corporation

2. Today’s consumer is more connected and more
demanding than ever
71%
of smartphone
users compare
prices in stores
5.9B
mobile phone
subscribers across
the globe in 2013
58%
19%
are more priceconscious today
than they were a
year ago
increase in
mobile sales on
Black Friday 2013
vs. 2012
70%
92%
of a B2B purchase
decision is made
before a rep is
contacted
of consumers
research online and
seek opinions via
earned media before a
purchase
*SOURCES: IBM Institute for Business Value; IBM 2012 Holiday Benchmark Reports; ChiefMarketer.com

3. Marketers must engage today’s consumer in context, at
every point in the lifecycle
Rescue at-risk customers
before they churn
Match service levels with
expectations
Serve and sell to customers in their
preferred channels
Give customers a means to share
ideas and opinions
Provide relevant content that
informs the buying decision
Send offers when customers are
most likely to buy
Identify, develop, and reward
Make useful recommendations
brand advocates
about products and services
Arm workforce with the knowledge
customers want
Intervene when customers are
struggling
Understand and respect
customers’ preferences
Continuous Customer Engagement

4. In a global study of marketers, IBM found 20% outperform
the rest
The top
20%
1.8x higher
of marketers:
3-yr gross profit growth
• Adopt cross-channel
optimization technologies
3.4x higher
• Take proactive ownership of
the customer experience
3-yr net income growth
And achieve:
2.4x higher
3-yr stock price growth
*SOURCE: The State of Marketing 2013: IBM’s Global Survey of Marketers, IBM Center for Applied Insights

5. These outperformers employ four specific practices
Break down silos
1.
Maximize the moment
2.
to better engage customers and deliver exceptional
customer experience
with real-time and predictive analytics to delight
customers in context
Deliver an omni-channel experience
3.
Consistently measure results
4.
to ensure the right experience is delivered via the right
channel every time
to improve customer insight, responses, and ROI
Get the report:
*SOURCE: The State of Marketing 2013: IBM’s Global Survey of Marketers, IBM Center for Applied Insights

6. Leading marketers maximize every moment with their
customers – significantly more so than their peers
Leading marketers are:
2.6x
1.4x
more likely to adjust real-time offers more likely to integrate inbound and
outbound efforts
based on context
*SOURCE: The State of Marketing 2013: IBM’s Global Survey of Marketers, IBM Center for Applied Insights

7. So, how can we build a real-time engagement strategy?

8. 1. Who is the customer or prospect? How much do we
know about her?
Customer data:
Demographics, psychographics, account details, purchase history
Behavioral data:
Page views, location, reason for call, products in cart

9. Many approaches to personalization use one type of data
Customer data:
Demographics, psychographics, account details, purchase history
SPAM
Display ads
Pre-calculated
offers
Less personalized
Search engine
marketing (SEM)
Personalized
email
More personalized
Online behavioral
advertising
Behavioral data:
Page views, location, reason for call, products in cart
Product
recommendation
engines

10. But, your customers are multidimensional –
and so are successful personalization strategies
Customer
data:
Demographics, psy
chographics, accou
nt details, purchase
history
Good approach
Personalized
email
Pre-calculated
offers
Online behavioral
advertising
SPAM
Display ads
SEM
Product
recommendation
engines
Behavioral data:
Page views, location, reason for call, products in cart

11. WOTC powers
insight beyond
just related or
bestselling
products

12. 2. What gets personalized?
The message:
• Special offer: 10% off, BOGO
• Recommended products
• Thematic message: “Stay warm this winter”
• Follow-up/ other action – even if it’s not a traditional marketing message!
The look and feel:
• Background/ layout: e.g., season-specific, optimized for certain device
• Images

13. 3. Where does the interaction happen? How connected is
it to my other marketing efforts?
Can you:
• Reinforce offers and
messages across channels?
• Learn from every
interaction?
• Use what you learn to
power future decisions?
Marketer
Customer

14. You forgot your
cash – but it’s safe
and sound.

15. 4. When are the personalization decisions made?
Customer data:
Before the interaction
Demographics, psychographics, account details, already know)
(based on what you purchase history
Behavioral data:
Before the interaction
Page views, location, reason for call, products in cart
(triggered, but not decided, by context)

16. Better approach: Decide during the interaction
Customer
data:
Demographics, psy
chographics, accou
nt details, purchase
history
During the interaction
Good approach
Personalized
email
(drawing
Pre-calculated
offers
on history AND context)
Online behavioral
advertising
SPAM
Display ads
SEM
Product
recommendation
engines
Behavioral data:
Page views, location, reason for call, products in cart

17. Time: a key third dimension of real-time engagement
Changes over time:
Patterns of
behavior, account status
change, credit score
Best
approach

19. 5. How is the personalized message selected?
Deterministic:
Predictive:
Marketers structure end-to-end logic
before deployment
Software uses algorithms to determine
the best course of action
Best
approach

20. What does this look like?
Mary
• 35 years old
• Loyalty program member
• Researches via mobile
• Purchases in store
15%
http://www.voluptatem.quia
WEBSITE
James
15%
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• 42 years old
• Returning customer
• Researches & purchases
online after business hours

21.  Access Connect Online to complete your session surveys using any:
– Web or mobile browser
– Connect Online kiosk onsite

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