For months, a multitude of article headlines have been spotlighting the need to "tackle Big Data," and it seems like we've been talking about this for ages. And yes, that includes Retail TouchPoints. But who can blame the media? Collecting and leveraging all forms of data has become a "must-do" for businesses across verticals and sizes -- especially as consumers become more connected, empowered and of course, demanding.
At the Teradata 2013 PARTNERS Conference in Dallas, Texas, the true benefits of Big Data have become distinctly clear: it's all about being able to answer questions before they are even asked, and providing offers before consumers even have a need for them. Talk about powerful!
During a special panel discussion, several thought leaders discussed how the businesses of tomorrow will be exploring and exploiting the Big Data universe to garner more detailed multichannel, multi-touch behavioral insight for improved customer engagement.
Moderated by Bill Franks, Chief Analytics Officer for Teradata, the panel honed in on current trends and opportunities for personalizing the digital experience. A few key topics included: improving offers/messages, cross-channel attribution and maintaining brand image while making the shopping journey more relevant.
As Bill eloquently noted: "There are more sources of information on customers, and every additional source gives us additional power."
Following are a few key takeaways from the discussion:
Prof. Mike Hanssens, UCLA: In his position, Prof. Hanssens studies "what works in marketing and what doesn't." One key insight that stuck out to me is data's role in customer satisfaction.
"Customer satisfaction is a key driver to customer loyalty which in turn, benefits a company," he said. Marketers have evolved from simply relying on survey data to tracking and understanding customer sentiment. This mainly is because there are sample limitations, and "most people say what they want to hear and don't accurately share their feelings. "In this new age, there are new ways consumers express themselves. Consumer sentiment as expressed on the web is a fascinating area of inquiry."
To succeed, businesses are becoming "much more aware of customer happiness and how it aligns with sales."
Brands and retailers can leverage Big Data to create more relevant offers, messages and product recommendations, however, they shouldn't forge the value of the brand itself, Hanssens added.
"In the Big Data era, I'm worried we're going to de-emphasize the brand to just personalize everything," he said. "The decision of how much to personalize is a very important one. I don't think we should forget the power of strong branding while personalizing."
One example Hanssens offered was Procter & Gamble, which "is at the top of the category when it comes to using data."
Mohan Namboodiri, Williams-Sonoma: With a wide family of brands, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., is a multi-billion dollar, multichannel retailer. The company leverages a variety of triggered marketing tactics and ad hoc analytics of "various flavors."
However, Williams-Sonoma faces a challenge in that it is very focused on a specific brand story and identity, which is portrayed through print catalogs with "very powerful aspirational expressions," Namboodiri said. So there is a constant battle between what to personalize based on the opinion of a specific consumer, and keeping the overall brand in tact.
"We can't do triggered marketing the same way Amazon can," Namboodiri said. "The fact that we have 50% of revenue coming from the web means we clearly have engaged that buying journey. But if you look at the sites we still have that dominant voice going on."
Although Williams-Sonoma leverages a series of 30 triggered marketing campaigns, "we're not personalizing down to you. I think that's going to change but what can't change is it still has to have that quality. And that's a tension between the fast-moving ability to pick up on the sentiment of a single cookie and respond [in a way that is] on-brand."
Rashmi Nigam, Machinima: Machinima.com is a gaming and media streaming web site that was designed to be a community for machinima, which is "the art of creating animated videos in real-time virtual game environments."
Nigam noted that for the media industry, the "consumption of entertainment has gone to multiple channels." As a result, companies must "know what metrics are important and what triggers can influence those metrics."
To that end, Machinima is striving to better track media consumption to establish a more direct relationship with audiences. The company launched an Xbox app, which offers near real-time data of who's watching what, where they're going and what they're doing, so Machinima is able to "dynamically control the experience and offer recommendations." For example, if a consumer is playing a game and is struggling to pass a level, Machinima may deliver a video that offers tips on how to pass it.
Mike Gualtieri, Forrester: In his position at Forrester, Gualtieri covers data management, Big Data and predictive analytics. Through his work with clients, he noted that one of the hottest drivers for Big Data is customer engagement.
One "ideal use case" Gualtieri shared is the concept of predictive apps. For example, a Home Depot customer may have to visit the store several times a day to pick up items. "Through predictive analytics, you can see shopper intent and at the self-checkout give them a list of other items they should buy to prevent them from making several trips."
When asked whether Big Data analysis is paramount to creating a competitive advantage, Gualtieri said: "The companies that have grown substantially in the last several years treat consumers like individuals. I think the problem is there's not enough data, or it isn't all together. if they get all those together they're have a much richer data source. Most marketers are working in drought conditions when it comes to data because they're just working from their own databases."
One final piece of advise from Gualtieri? Don't worry about the creep factor! This was a big topic of conversation at the show, so it's interesting that he believes this isn't a big issue among consumers. I guess you can relate this to the film Field of Dreams. You know the saying "if you build it, they will come"? Well, in this case, I guess it's accurate to say "if you personalize it, they will buy."
Wes Moore, Teradata IMM Apps: Responsible for integrated marketing management solutions and strategies, Moore and the IMM team looks at the customer experience and what Teradata needs to do to help marketers engage and enrich the customer experience.
When asked to share a good example of personalization and Big Data marketing, Moore spotlighted Finish Line. Apparently, a friend of his has a daughter with an affinity for collecting Air Jordans.
"She was really into shoes, had 50 pairs and FinishLine was able to not only understand that she is a female, and buys men's shoes at a certain size, but also engage her in both digital and traditional channels," Moore said. "Then, offers would come out to invite her to specific events for new shoes. They recognize her as a consumer and engage her. It's interesting that very few companies are doing that."
Data collection, integration and analysis is a big part of the new marketing puzzle, but agility also is important, Moore noted. "Agility isn't just being quick and being able to react," he said. "It's about anticipating. Marketers need to create a consistent message and experience across channels but they need to look at the organization and see if they're agile enough to drive those messages across channels."
David Shapiro, DataXu: DataXu is a Big Data analytics company focused on digital media and advertising space. Meaning, the company collects anonymous data from the web and provides that information to clients to help them prioritize digital media spend across mobile, video, social and digital ads.
During one segment, Shapiro noted that companies should "listen to and understand the data being created on the web and using analytics to power that. The web is allowing you to see real-time data and purchases and measure it all." He added that this information can hep businesses create richer customer profiles, which in turn, can improve the experience.
Whew! That's a lot to take in. Based on the points brought up in the panel, it's a very exciting time for marketers across all industry -- retail included.
What are your thoughts on the panel discussion points? Do you agree or disagree? Share your opinions in the comments below!
