Gearing up for Real-Time-Markting?

What is real time marketing (RTM)? 

Dynamic brand messaging and providing customer specific offers that drive a customer interaction – where ability to respond with an adjustment or customization is 2 minutes or less! Both the marketing message and the offers constantly evolve based on data driven analytics and insights.

As Zena Weist describes RTM in her blog - Real Time Marketing is using data analytics with a process flow to shift marketing messages in real time or near team time.  Real-Time Marketing has three unique layers:

1.  It’s a process, not a project (meaning there’s no start and stop date)

2.  It’s an ongoing newsroom, not an advertising campaign

3.  The content has to be brand-relevant and current but not a buzz wedge. To me, a “buzz wedge” is when something going on in the news is trending (the buzz) and a company tries to capitalize on it with a story or social post even though the buzz is completely off brand (the wedge)

A recent survey by Econsultancy which polled 900 client side marketers and agency respondents concluded that Real Time Marketing (RTM) has contributed to an average uplift in conversion rates of 26%. So why is adoption so low?

Lets understand what is needed for RTM

1. Data Integration: lack of a unified customer database, which combines information on demographic, behavioral, personal and activity trends, is the biggest hindranc
2. Data Collection: most organizations do not collect real time date on their customers
3. Marketing Technology: most organizations don’t have the technology platform to execute real time marketing
4. Business Strategy and Tactics to complement real time responses: fewer than one-third of company marketers feel that their organizations are effective at conceiving business strategy and tactics to take advantage of real-time capabilities

The survey confirms that despite these challenges, majority of marketers believe in the benefits of RTM and are investing in pulling together the technology, data and talent to make real-time work!