DECEMBER 2018CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9Beyond just automating time-consuming, repetitive marketing tasks, these tools can help marketing teams better balance and optimize which consumers they want to concentrate their efforts on.At RetailMeNot, we see over 23 million unique mobile users; by automating the data from our audience's mobile actions, we're able to better strategize how to turn casual users into brand loyalists.Automation That Drives PersonalizationIt's no longer enough for marketers to make business decisions based on what they think their customers are doing. Consumers today expect messages to be relevant and timely, otherwise they move on to the next thing.One-to-one communication with your audience on your app or website will increase conversion rates and incite return visits. Even if your audience starts its journey on your app, that means serving up messages on a variety of channels, including email, push notifications, geo-location alerts, messaging and more.Mobile excels in sending push notifications, in-app messaging and alerts, building user profiles, real-time analysis and more. Marketers are communicating in a deeply personal way with established users, which mean they can give consumers what they want, when and where they want it.Marketing relationship tools can solve some of these issues by allowing for more deep marketing tactics tied to personalization. At RetailMeNot, we've seen tremendous success using automation, heavily oriented around engagement first and building one-on-one relationships with customers over time.With Data Comes PowerRetail marketers are often looking for a better way to leverage data they already have. By employing the use of marketing automation platforms, they now have access to insights that truly engage customers and build a more robust relationship.The power of this technology is being able to target and offer a relevant message or offer that users will enjoy receiving. If the insights captured are not used to market to consumers in appropriate and relevant ways, then the marketing messaging will be seen as nothing more than a generic or group blast. Retail marketers have to push beyond lumping customers into groupings--such as those based purely on previous purchases or categories shopped in--and push beyond surface-level personalization.There are several essential data and insights components for marketers to capture:· Channel data: How does your customer reach and communicate with your business?· Behavioral insights: Who is your customer and what are their day-to-day activities? This can reveal essential demographic and action-based information about them specifically.· Lifecycle: Where is your customer in the shopping journey? This allows marketers to see the user from initial opt-in to long-term loyal fan.Of course, the most important thing to remember when collecting customer data is ensuring privacy and allowing the user to opt-in to which messages and information they'd like to share. Having the consumer be a part of the relationship may be the most powerful aspect to winning loyalty.As marketers try to focus more on retention and lifetime value, it becomes crucial to not only have the right data setup but to find the right relationship management tools that allow you to really scale.Relationship management technology and tools can allow marketers to move quickly in areas like one-on-one relationship building and automated messaging based on triggers that would never be possible manually. There is plenty of opportunity for growth in these areas, and now is the time to jump ahead of the competition. Marissa TarletonOne-to-one communication with your audience on your app or website will increase conversion rates and incite return visits
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