The real nuance for brands in seizing the opportunity for right time marketing is to show patience to gather more information given a specific context, according to David Rosen, Strategy, Analytics and Consumer Insights at TIBCO Loyalty Lab.
During today’s webinar, “Is There Ever a WRONG Time to Market? Right Time vs. Real Time,” hosted by Loyalty 360, Rosen told attendees that the world no longer has time for an associate to respond: “Can you wait a minute while I look that up?”
Customers live in real time and want things immediately, Rosen said.
“The context is key,” Rosen said. “But what will make that engagement more effective? Ask where the customer is going? What is in stock? Where she prefers to shop? Is she alone or with a friend? Those missing pieces are crucial.”
Customers now expect and demand brands to deliver personalized, relevant messages and offers based on their purchase history. The power of real-time marketing is the ability to act almost instantly on customer insights.
But Rosen said, with brands armed with volumes of customer data, they need to be wary of invading the “creepy” territory as far as messaging. He said loyalty programs usually can avoid the “creepy” factor because of the relationships forged through membership that puts the customer in a more secure place.
Rosen offered three tips for marketers when determining the right time to market:
Don’t make me wait.
Consumers truly expect us to anticipate their needs.
Don’t be creepy.
A poll question during the webinar revealed that 33% of attendees said they have received what they considered to be a “creepy” message from a brand.
“We’re always always on,” Rosen said. “We’re always broadcasting who we’re with, telling people exactly where we are.”
What’s driven this?
“We were all waiting to see when social media would become a large part of marketing,” Rosen said. “Much of this data occurs in the cloud and we’re now at a time where mathematics trumps science. The vast amount of data relies on strong mathematical computation and execution. This allows marketers to be more creative. Mobility has reshaped us as marketers as we’ve progressed from telephones to web to smartphone devices.”
Rose pointed out that there are more smartphones in the world than toothbrushes, and more iPhones being sold than babies being born.
Rosen said he attended a recent meeting to discuss what makes consumers loyal.
“There is this idea that consumers are smarter than we are as marketers,” he said. “They can fool us as to how they want to be marketed to. This represents the first pillar of understanding when to market. You have to make them feel value and assess the timing of the marketing message.”
To increase levels of trust through the delivery of consistent and relevant messages across channels, marketers should base their decisions about the right time to engage customers on the following three factors: channel communication preference; contacts and action; and characteristics of the consumer.
Brands should avoid marketing when “she’s on the move,” Rosen said, and when they’re actually buying something. He recommended marketing via offers on receipts and SMS after checkout.
Rosen used Wayne Gretzky, arguably the greatest hockey player ever, as an example of someone whose unique advantage was his anticipation and seeing what was coming before it actually happened.
On the following occasions, Rosen said to “stick to real time marketing” in cases when someone wants immediate service and for gamification because the latter relies on urgency, challenge, and response.
“Social media has changed the way in which we anticipate response,” he said. “Monitoring social media in real time is very powerful.”
Attendees answered a poll question that asked what is the single strongest force in changing consumers’ perceptions of engagement marketing – 60% said social media; 30% said smartphone penetration; and 10% said loyalty programs.
Rosen said brands should remember the three C’s: context, channel, and characteristics. Find out which channel he/she is engaging through – website/email/POS/tablet-based clienteling devices/customer service centers/social media/mobile websites/apps/on-premises kiosks; and whether they’re in a discovery mode, comparison shopping, actual shopping, post-purchase, or customer service stage.
Right-time marketing needs to connect beyond time and place, Rosen said, and forge a deeper relationship between customer and brand.