Side Click: Tapping into real-time reactions from consumers

Consumers today are spoilt for choice. To win them over, brands need to deliver real-time customized experiences. New technologies and techniques are allowing them to do just that.

Consumers today are extremely brand savvy. With access to various media platforms to conduct research, compare prices and ultimately purchase products, consumers favour brands that deliver experiences that suit their needs in the present moment. Consumers have begun to recalibrate what is expected from their media, stores and brands – demanding real-time personalized information every step of the way.

What is real-time marketing?
Real time marketing is defined as using apt communication tools to provide a more profound yet personalized consumer experience and information – at the right time and place – so as to address a consumer’s needs with accuracy. This is a component of Present Tense Marketing, which concentrates on ways of understanding consumers’ current situation for a personalized experience.

Real-time marketing – Time is of the essence

The key platform for brands to respond to consumers in real-time is through social media. A UK study conducted in February 2014 concluded that real-time marketing via social media engagements resulted in increased audience engagement for 76% of the respondents.

However, other platforms, such as SMS marketing, mobile data outreach and customized in-store screen ads, should not be discounted.

How does real-time marketing work in practice?
Oreo tweeted about the birth of the royal baby in 2013, attracting 6 million followers! Real time marketing in conjunction with major global events such as the Grammy Awards and the recent 2014 FIFA World Cup are very much in vogue.

Getting the most out of real-time Marketing

What factors should marketers keep in mind when reaching out to consumers?

• Understand your customer

This requires detailed research in areas like demographics, purchase history, consumer service requests, as well as browsing and cross-channel engagement data, to help identify product and brand affinities.

• Collect real-time data

It is key to collect data pertaining to what consumers do in real-time, their location and level of engagement rate with a brand. Nowadays, mobile applications help track real-time browsing activities, shopping cart activities, keyword searches, social media engagement, interaction with call centers, reviews, and so forth to derive crucial data.

• Offer a unique experience

Calculating the optimal consumer experience requires the consumer’s current profile to be combined with real-time interaction data (the what, where and how of consumer’s engagement with brand) to help ascertain expectations.

https://www.spireresearch.com/spire-journal/yr2014/q3/side-click-tapping-into-real-time-reactions-from-consumers/