Big Data: Unveiling opportunities in Email Marketing

BIGDATA UNVEILING THE BIG OPPORTUNITIES IN EMAIL MARKETING I' o100 I1 Big data is a blanket term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications. And for email marketers, data is mission critical. With the right set of data, you could send better targeted and real-time emails to your subscribers providing them best in class inbox experience. DATA IS BIG, BUT ARE MARKETERS LEVERAGING IT ENOUGH? 14% Email Marketing is becoming more personalized and relevant! According to Aberdeen, Personalized emails with right data sets improve click through rates by 14%. 20% A McKinsey & Company study of more than 250 engagements over five years revealed that companies that put data at the center of their email marketing and overall sales decisions, improve their marketing return on investment by 15-20%. 83% According to IBM, 83% of CMOS expect to enhance their use of analytics to capture customer insights. And Forbes reports that by 2017, CMOS will outspend CIOS on information technology. And, if you are up to utilize big data effectively, you ought to understand the characteristics of big data! 5 ASPECTS OF BIG DATA MEDITATE THESE BEFORE YOU AIM FOR STARS! Volume Velocity The term 'velocity' in the context Variability The quantity of data that is This refers to the inconsistency generated is very important in refers to the speed of generation which can be shown the data this context. of data or how fast the data is at times, thus hampering the process of being able to handle and manage the data effectively. generated and processed. Veracity Complexity The quality of the data being Data management can become a captured can vary greatly. very complex process, especially Accuracy of analysis depends on when large volumes of data the veracity of the source data. comes from multiple sources. This situation, is therefore, termed as the 'complexity' of Big Data. What happens once you fill hot air in the balloon, it rises of course! And, now that you are through with Bernard Marr's 5 aspects of Big Data, it's time for you to rise, transform data sets and embark on a new journey..! JOURNEY TOWARDS HEAVENLY BIG DATA TRANSFORMATION A heap of data is of no use. Big data is useful only when it is properly collected, assessed and evaluated over the period of time so that it can be transformed into actionable data sets. Quality Assessment Customer Transforming the heap of Data to Customer Intelligence Data Collection of the Data Big Data Formation Comprehensive Database Re-evaluation Data Integration and Processing of the Data Well, you might have a question here! What about data from multiple sources or channels? How do you tackle that MULTI-CHANNEL DATA MANAGEMENT GETTING UP TO THE CLOUD! Challenge: Solution: • Learn about how data modeling impacts the messaging and your Data comes from a variety of sources Like social media, CRM, analytics, deeper perspective on customer behavior. point-of-purchase, web interaction, etc. • Select the right data sets that provide value to your email program or So what should be done to manage the company. multi-channel data stores in the • Consider using a multi-channel marketing cloud that can collectively disparate systems? use data from different sources and drive relevant campaigns and interactions. • Merge the vital data with consumer or recipient behavior. Like a hot air balloon, you have the data upright and you are ready to rise, but you need to know how to drive! How if you make the journey blend with some insightful models of big data? ANALYTICS MODELS OF BIG DATA IT HELPS IMPROVE EMAIL ROI! CLUSTERING Clustering tells a story about who your consumer is by grouping similar customers together. With clustering you let the algorithms, rather than the marketers, create customer segments. Algorithms are able to segment customers based on many more variables than a human being ever could. Clustering is not the end all and be all of data modelling. Once you have the customers grouped into "like" behavioral groups, you then can look deeper at the data to determine how good a customer/prospect they truly are, based on numerous signals. Let's explore a few of these and see how deep we can go. Long term, high value, frequent buyers High value, fewer orders, big spend on 1st order $99 average order $124 average order $2,261 total revenues $595 total revenues 24 days between orders 67 days between orders + 10 More + 10 More 2 PROPENSITY MODELS Propensity models make predictions about a customer's future behavior. With propensity models you can anticipate a customer's possible future behavior. The certainty of action however is a prediction and you have to gauge the degree of certainty. You could use this to analyze your subscribers' propensity to engage, propensity to unsubscribe, propensity to buy in a specific product or service category, churn, etc. RECOMMENDATION OR COLLABORATIVE FILTERING recommendation models were made famous by Amazon with their "customer who liked this product, also liked ..." suggestions. There are different types of recommendations. You could use the same for upselling or cross selling products in your order confirmation or transactional emails which can have a high open and engagement rate well above promotional communication. For all of us who are email marketers, we need specific email data types for better targeted campaigns! So, which are those? CTOR, Purchase Histories and Browsing Behavior, may be? WHICH ARE THE WORTH CHANTING CUSTOMER DATA TYPES FOR EMAIL MARKETERS? Well, Monks have listed four primary data types every email marketer needs to get acquainted with. Web Interaction Email Interaction Access to a recipients' web interaction data can help marketers gain an Basic email interaction data shows where the in-depth understanding of how the customer is browsing a website. Abandoned customer has clicked within the email, open shopping carts and completed applications for instance, will show what the rates, opened links, clicks, customer conversions, consumer is in the market for, thus filling the blanks for what kinds of email and related metrics. campaigns will prove most compelling. Profile Preferences Data from user profiles, such as location, age Purchase Data and gender, may not be as reliable as the users' Past purchase data can be a valuable predictor of a consumer's next move. By most recent email or web interactions but is still looking at what the subscriber has purchased in the past and what they are valuable in baseline targeting. Also, do consider using now, email campaigns can be customized to suggest a personalized next data obtained from third party sources. That data step. For example, if the customer just bought a new mobile phone, knowing can give you insight into consumer behavior specific specials for phone cases and screen protectors can help direct the next when they are not engaged with your brand or purchase. information that has not been disclosed that can be used for insights. Apart from these data, email marketers also need to keep close eyes on other relevant data sets like: O Different ways of incorporating dynamic content in email body, the past results etc. O Split test results of the subject lines, CTAS, copy, send time, etc. O Which domains performed well, which email clients did O Information supplied by customers in the preference not support the campaigns, what is to be done to stand center. out in tabbed inboxes? BIG DATA IS DIVINE - 6BENEFITS OF USING DATA BASED EMAIL MARKETING! Timely insights from the vast amounts of data. This includes lists that are stored in the company databases, from external third-party sources, the Internet, social media and remote sensors. Tailored product launches and customized service propositions with narrower customer profiling & segmentation. Real-time information monitoring unlocking the value and relevancy for each and every subscriber differently. Sophisticated analytics can substantially improve decision-making for next campaigns, minimize risks, and unearth valuable insights that would otherwise remain hidden. Increase in customer loyalty and relationship even without offers or discounts by looking at the data in Increased engagement, open rate and conversions. aggregate. MEDITATING WITH BIG DATA IN EMAIL BEST PRACTICES Read up on the latest articles and perspectives on the use of Big Data. Test the data at each stage of refinement and build a comprehensive database. Do not set long term goals based on existing data as with time, you will require to update to new data types based on the third party information and customer preferences. Test the effectiveness of data on small samples before building an entire program based on the data. Understand the data backup mechanism and how will you manage removing or replacing obsolete data with new data and information. While using data modeling for your email campaigns, integrate separate data sources with conformed dimensions that hold together separate data sources and allow them to be combined in a single analysis. Maintain privacy as an important aspect of big data governance. Also, ensure the systems are having robust mechanisms to prevent data theft. Qualify existing and required tools, email systems and architecture that will support the big data lifecycle being managed. Do not overuse the data which is available to you, but not explicitly shared by customers. It might create permission related issues or even breaching the privacy. Measure results, operational as well as business value ROI. Use control groups to get the real effectiveness. A December 2013 survey of digital shoppers conducted by Harris Interactive found that 70% were even willing to disclose personal information in order to get emails that were more relevant to their buying situation. So when you have more people ready to ride your hot air balloon, why not utilize the space in your balloon and make the joy ride more accessible? And, we can't thank Ryan Phelan enough for all the help he has extended to us with the infographic content with his views and thoughts about Big Data. Ryan Phelan has over 15 years of email and digital marketing experience most recently with Acxiom, BlueHornet, Sears and Responsys. Ryan is a respected thought leader and nationally distinguished speaker on subjects relating to using complex data to drive effective strategies in email marketing, social and mobile. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area. ABOUT EMAIL MONKS Email Monks Email Monks designs and code heavenly emails, landing pages and templates. To get the best conversion from your big data, blend it with our unique designs and errorless code. Get in touch with us today on [email protected] or visit www.emailmonks.com O facebook.com/emailmonks Email Monks 3 +1 213 674 MONK X [email protected] e twitter.com/emailmonks www.emailmonks.com S emailmonks O pinterest.com/emailmonks Sources: IMedia Connection | Tower Data | Tech Republic | Smart Insights | DM News | Ad Age | Clickz | Chief Marketer | CA Technologies | Inside Big Data