Making It Human: The Real-Time Approach To Personalised Marketing

In the days of past, just popping someone’s name in a pre-populated email counted as targeted marketing. Today, organisations are all vying to be heard, and are turning to personalised marketing to give them the edge. With higher demand, ever-shifting behaviour patterns, being able to personalise in real-time is key for businesses that want to build enduring relationships with their customers.

It's all about you

It is not surprising that Harris Interactive found that 82% of company executives believe customer expectations are higher than three years ago. However, it seems more complex when you realise that every human has different expectations and needs and they want this to be recognised when they make a purchase. Research by E-consultancy highlighted that businesses that are personalising web experiences could see a rise in sales by 19%. If they take this to the next level and interact in real time, they’ll gain valuable insights. They can use this information to build a picture of the customer, their individual needs and how this affects their behaviour one moment to the next.

Moving with the (real) times

Making decisions (and changing our minds) in a snap second is just what humans do and predicting any shift in advance can prove tricky. Our customer, lets call her Jane, is browsing for a pair of shoes for a summer wedding one evening. The next morning she changes her mind completely about the style. Being able to keep up those interactions in real time shows her that the business doesn't take a blanket approach and is listening to what she wants from the buying process. This builds loyalty and takes the relationship from ‘Dear Ms Doe’ to ‘Hey Jane, we saw you liked...’

Put it into practice

With over 91% of marketers currently using or intending to use some form of personalised marketing in the next year it’s hard to know where you can gain that edge. One of the most important steps to take is to choose a robust platform, like IBM’s Marketing Automation Suite. The products have been created using extensive research and analysis of the consumer journey. In a world where everyone is bombarded by marketing, the platform helps you to stand out by putting the customer at the centre and giving a human element to their interactions.