Thinking Small For Bigger Data Impact

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nrichter-headshotIn this special guest feature,  Nathan Richter of Monetate discusses the benefits of thinking small with data to drive ROI and make benefits evident, fast. Richter is Global Director Client Solutions at cloud-based marketing software provider Monetate.

It’s hard to operate in today’s business world without hearing the buzz around Big Data. But as it turns out, fast data might actually be where the value lies for marketers.

Here’s why: the notion that “bigger is better” doesn’t recognize that many big data segments have yet to have any practical business application.

Marketers may be wise to instead look at smaller, more function specific data segments. Even if actionable solutions could be gleaned from big data analysis, it would have to be analyzed in a timely enough manner to be beneficial to customers, and that time constraint is real. That means the data you can get may be more valuable than the data you want but can’t get in time. Delivering a better customer experience is about doing so in an expedient manner.

That’s not to say there isn’t tremendous value in long-term analysis. Big data analytics can reveal which channels are of most value to your business, as well as help you target customers and maximize revenue. But what you can’t leverage in real-time, can’t be leveraged at all.

There are three such data sources that can be accessed in real time via your browser:

First-Party Data – Arguably the most valuable data set at your fingertips, first-party data includes transactional and other customer-level profile information you have from your customers. It could also include your own offline segmentation analysis that allows you to map a customer profile around which you build your marketing programs. It may even include your analytics or other on-site tracking data, which can provide behavioral insight about your consumers.

Third-Party Data – Data management platforms (DMPs) can provide access to a consumer’s web browsing and buying history as a whole, and give you more insight into their purchasing habits. From this information you can build an entire profile around visitors who you previously knew nothing about.

Real-Time Behavior – And not to be ignored is what the customer’s behavior is telling us with each click. As much as we’re enraptured with predictive modeling, we can’t lose site of the matter-of-fact data we’re ascertaining from the customer. Be sure to stop and carefully analyze what they’re doing, and react accordingly. There’s an array of analytical and personalization tools, as well as software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms that bring about alternate site experiences by reacting to every click through your site.

Take for instance a customer who is headed to Miami for Labor Day weekend. They’re providing a travel site with every detail needed to curate the rest of that experience; a jet ski category visit told you today’s buying impulse, and so on. Everything from imagery to content to add-ons can be personalized for your customer’s experience.

Taking the data available to you in the here and now will allow you to find immediate ways to enrich that customer experience, and drive conversions and revenue. Analyze the data you have, assess its value. This information will make a happier, more engaged, and more purchase-ready customer.

 

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