2014 truth about real-time marketing

Real-Time Marketing Report in association with Monetate

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2014

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5HDO�7LPH�0DUNHWLQJ�5HSRUW in association with Monetate


Contents

1. Executive Summary and Highlights ................................ 4

1.1. Methodology ................................................................................ 5

2. Foreword by Monetate ..................................................... 6

2.1. About Monetate ........................................................................... 7 2.2. About Econsultancy .................................................................... 7

3. What Does Real Time Mean to Your Customers? ........... 8

4. The Benefits of True Real-Time Marketing .................... 11

5. Customers, Culture and the Experience of Tomorrow . 13

6. The Variables of Real-Time Marketing .......................... 17

7. Importance of Technology and Data ............................. 21

8. Don’t Forget the Human Side of the Equation.............. 24

9. The Near Future of Real-Time Marketing ..................... 27

10. Appendix: Respondent Profiles ..................................... 30

Real-Time Marketing Report in association with Monetate

� � (FRQVXOWDQF\�/RQGRQ�4th Floor, Wells Point 79 Wells Street London W1T 3QN United Kingdom Telephone: +44 207 269 1450 http://econsultancy.com [email protected]

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5HDO�7LPH�0DUNHWLQJ�5HSRUW in association with Monetate Page 4


1. Executive Summary and Highlights With customers wanting to increasingly drive their brand experiences, marketers have realized they need to rely on far more than their reputations and internal efficiencies to outpace competitors. Instead, they’re focused on targeting their customers in a near instantaneous manner, using specific data points to personalize messages and product offerings across all channels and devices.

With this approach to reaching customers in its infancy for most brands, (FRQVXOWDQF\, in association with 0RQHWDWH, surveyed nearly 900 marketers across the world to provide a snapshot of real-time marketing in 2014. What follows is those findings, a baseline for marketers to use when assessing their plans for this year and beyond.�

Though most of those surveyed recognize the importance of delivering winning experiences to their customers in a near instantaneous manner, marketers are finding real-time marketing to be full of challenges.

Marketers largely said they are lacking the technology to collect disparate data sources into one centralized database and the skilled employees to leverage that data. They also said they need their brands to embrace the cultural change required to be more nimble.

Still, the rewards are there for those who invest the time, money and energy into real-time marketing. Those who have already added real-time marketing capabilities have reported improved customer experiences, high conversion rates, high customer retention rates and higher average order values, among other benefits.

Additional highlights of the report include:

z 80% of respondents consider ‘real-time’ to be two minutes or less.

z More than half of respondents said they need to interact with customers more quickly.

z 29% of respondents are not engaging in any type of real-time marketing.

z 85% of respondents said it is fundamental, significant or important to their future business success to provide experiences that are responsive to customers based on real-time, in-the-moment behaviors.

z A reported 26% uplift, on average, in conversion rate coming from real-time marketing activities.

Those marketers who have been successful are not just at large companies or from a specific vertical, proving that real-time marketing benefits all brands.



1.1. Methodology The Econsultancy / Monetate Real-Time Marketing report is based on a survey of almost 900 client-side marketers and agency respondents. Information about the online survey was emailed to Econsultancy’s user base of digital professionals and marketers, and promoted online via Twitter and other channels during November and December 2013.

The incentive for taking part in the survey was access to a complimentary copy of this report just before its publication on the Econsultancy website.

A total of 880 respondents took part in the survey, including 44% who are client-side marketing professionals and 56% from the supply side (including agency marketers, consultants and those working for technology vendors or other service providers).

For more detailed profiling of respondents, see Section 10.



2. Foreword by Monetate Last year, when we worked with Econsultancy to publish the Realities of Online Personalization�report1, a significant portion of the 1,100 marketers surveyed said they understood the importance of real-time marketing, but didn’t know where to start. In short, they were acknowledging what we’ve believed for some time now: that today’s marketing is broken.

This year’s report continues that conversation, offering an international snapshot of where companies and agencies are in their quest to become real-time marketers, what advantages early adopters are seeing, and what’s been holding back those who are gearing up now.

Those organizations already carrying out real-time marketing experiences for their customers (which include delivering relevant information and product offerings across all channels and devices, personalizing interactions based on previous interactions, and tailoring offers and messages according to geography, weather and time of day) have reported a 26% uplift in their conversion rates.

But despite the clear commercial opportunities that result from real-time engagement, the research shows many companies are either yet to embark on a more responsive and instantaneous approach to marketing, despite knowing they should, or are struggling to be as agile as they would like.

So what’s holding these companies back?

The challenges companies face boil down to data, technology, company culture and skills within the organization. In the context of real-time marketing, only 29% of client-side respondents believe they have a strong data capability while this figure drops to 21% for marketing technology.

As well as barriers to success relating to disconnected data sources and cumbersome technology, there are also problems for companies relating to the all-important people side of the equation, and the development of a culture which is conducive to real-time marketing.

At Monetate, we have created a solution that eliminates each of those barriers. Our technology allows you to deliver those winning customer experiences on your website, in your email and anywhere else on the web without disrupting your current partners. And because our technology is easy to use, our customers are running 10 times more real-time marketing campaigns than they did previously, helping them grow 39% faster than their competitors.

We hope this research helps you to gain a better understanding of the opportunities afforded by real-time marketing, either to improve your capabilities in this area or to kick-start real-time marketing from scratch. We look forward to hearing your stories about how you’re making this work.

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1 http://econsultancy.com/reports/the-realities-of-online-personalisation-report



2.1. About Monetate Monetate generates billions of dollars of new revenue for businesses, helping them grow 39% faster than the industry average. Brands such as Best Buy, National Geographic, and Celebrity Cruises rely on Monetate to put the customer first, creating winning customer experiences that drive a sustained, competitive advantage.

The Monetate Acceleration Cloud connects two crucial elements that have always been treated separately within organizations: knowledge about the customer and marketing actions to deliver a better experience. Delight your customers with winning customer experiences that build authentic relationships and drive new revenue across any channel, all within one seamless solution.

For more information about Monetate, visit www.monetate.com.

2.2. About Econsultancy�Econsultancy’s mission is to help its customers achieve excellence in digital business, marketing and ecommerce through research, training and events.

Founded in 1999, Econsultancy has offices in New York, London and Singapore.

Econsultancy is used by over 500,000 professionals every month. Subscribers get access to research, market data, best practice guides, case studies and elearning – all focused on helping individuals and enterprises get better at digital.

The subscription is supported by digital transformation services including digital capability programs, training courses, skills assessments and audits. We train and develop thousands of professionals each year as well as running events and networking that bring the Econsultancy community together around the world.

Subscribe to Econsultancy today to accelerate your journey to digital excellence.

Call us to find out more:

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z /RQGRQ: +44 207 269 1450

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3. What Does Real Time Mean to Your Customers? Marketing is never a completely spontaneous activity. By its very nature, communication with target audiences requires a level of knowledge (stemming from data and insight) about what the audience wants and how the product or service offered meets their needs. This processing of knowledge to decide on how to engage with audiences cannot happen without planning.

Any calculation or assessment, whether done by man or machine, requires some time period to be executed. But the advent of new technology has meant that marketers are now looking to do this calculation and assessment near instantaneously, in order to benefit from the fact that their target audiences are now always on and always connected. Against this back-drop, the concept of real-time marketing has recently become more popular, particularly as the explosion in data has created new sources of information that can be used to the marketer’s advantage.

However, a key question needs answering: how fast is ‘real time’?

As shown in Figure 1, more than four-fifths of all respondents (80% company, 82% agency) said that responses should occur in two minutes or less. At the sharp end, 12% of company respondents said that real time was the ability to respond to consumer behaviors in less than a second.

This is so quick that, in order to carry out near instantaneous marketing at scale and using all available data and at scale, human intervention is not realistic. Technological solutions must be deployed, even if only at a basic level. Even though the explosion of data has led to a new era of opportunity in real-time marketing, many of the technologies involved have a long history. Email, SMS and search marketing are examples that many digital companies are well versed in.

Figure 1: How do you define real time?

Company respondents: 295

Agency respondents: 367

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Given the opportunities available and widespread business familiarity with various digital channels for communication, it is no surprise to see in Figure 2 that more than two-thirds of companies (71%) are engaging in real-time marketing of some description.

However, the other side of the coin is that a significant proportion of companies (29%) are still not employing these activities, while there is also a question mark as to whether personal, non-automated responses by brands on social media are instantaneous enough to merit the description of ‘real time’. For those that do engage in real-time marketing, just 12% feel their current speed of marketing is sufficient to obtain the best business results for the future (Figure 3).

This data reflects that real-time marketing is still very much an embryonic area with opportunities to be seized for competitive advantage. For companies looking to continue their trajectory of growth, it is a chance to take their marketing efforts up to a new level.

As described in Section 5 of this report, the pace of technological change is shifting customer expectations, both consciously and subconsciously. Just as page loading times and mobile optimized sites have become key components of a quality customer experience, the personalization and relevance of real-time marketing will soon place increasing demands on companies to catch up in an effort to be better than the competition.

Examples of data powering real-time marketing now include a whole host of factors that may influence the customer journey, as shown in Section 7. These include location data, on-site behavior, device type and connection speed, estimated demographic categories and even the weather. As real-time marketing develops, those making the most of this opportunity are likely to be those who see the greatest success online.

Figure 2: Do you or your clients currently employ any of the following?

Company respondents: 292 Agency respondents: 369

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Figure 3: Typically, is the rate of your or your clients’ real-time marketing efforts sufficient to get the best business results for the foreseeable future?


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“A consumer expects personalization – to know who they are, where they are and provide relevant and targeted information. This information should readily be available regardless of a consumer’s device.”

“They increasingly want to drive the experience, but at the same time have that experience customized for them. Personalization is important, but without the business being perceived as ‘nosey’ or stepping over line as it relates to privacy.”

“Availability and usage of new technology drives customers’ expectations higher all the time and it’s critical that we can keep pace with these expectations to retain the business.”

“Consumers expect an experience that takes their previous demographic and engagement data, and gives them a tailored, relevant interaction. While that experience seems seamless to the consumer, it’s incredibly difficult to implement well.”

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4. The Benefits of True Real-Time Marketing In order to understand the driving forces behind the move towards real-time marketing, both company and agency respondents were asked to provide details of what they perceive as the main benefits of real-time marketing. Their aggregated responses are shown in Figure 4.

The two benefits which were cited by more than half of all respondents were a better customer experience (84% for companies, 82% for agencies) and improved conversion rates (72% for companies, 74% for agencies). With a previous Econsultancy report showing that 90% of companies are committed to providing an integrated customer experience2, it is not surprising that customer experience is seen as the most frequently mentioned benefit.

With nearly three-quarters also citing conversion rates as a main benefit, companies were also asked to provide details about the impact that real-time marketing had been having on their bottom line. 7KH�DYHUDJH�XSOLIW�LQ�FRQYHUVLRQ�UDWH�FRPLQJ�IURP�UHDO�WLPH�PDUNHWLQJ�DFWLYLWLHV�ZDV��.�

These benefits, along with the opportunities afforded by increasing amounts of data and improving technology, mean that real-time marketing will become more of a strategic priority in the years to come.

Figure 4: What do you or your clients perceive as the main benefits of real-time marketing?


2 http://econsultancy.com/reports/integrated-customer-experience-report



While Figure 4 focuses on business benefits, the tag cloud below is useful for keeping front-of-mind the benefits of consumers. Figure 5 depicts responses to an open-ended question where we asked respondents to describe the expectations of the modern consumer.

Figure 5: Describe the expectations of the modern consumer.

Respondents: 260



5. Customers, Culture and the Experience of Tomorrow “Consumers are now used to having everything they want, when they want it. There is no margin for error any more for the wrong message, the wrong time, the wrong audience or the wrong product.”

Respondent, Econsultancy / Monetate Real-Time Marketing Survey

It started with search engines. Almost immediately, they began to recalibrate what people expected from media, stores and brands. Instead of being content with the products and services that were pushed at them, consumers came to realize they could find what they wanted.

But unlimited choice created its own complications; buyers also wanted sellers to help them narrow the field, and they wanted the process to be fast and nearly invisible.

That shift began over a decade ago. Where are they now?

z 7KH�LQGLYLGXDO�H[HUWV�VRPH�FRQWURO�RYHU�WKHLU�FRPPHUFLDO�OLIH. Low-cost shipping, combined with online research and crowd-sourced reviews means that people can buy products from a vast array of previously unknown suppliers with little fear. Brand loyalty means less than consumer opportunity. With commoditization in most verticals, marketers are left with the task of differentiating their brands with something besides price and product set.

z ([SHFWDWLRQV�IRU�DQ�H[FHOOHQW�GLJLWDO�H[SHULHQFH�DUH�RXWSDFLQJ�WKH�DELOLW\�RI�PRVW�FRPSDQLHV. The emphasis and investment into user experience optimization from digitally forward companies has left traditional organizations foundering. As we’ll see, even baseline customer expectations require a digital presence that is effortlessly multichannel and effective across devices.

z &RQVXPHUV�DUH�PRELOH�DQG�LQFUHDVLQJO\�FRPIRUWDEOH�VKRSSLQJ�DQG�EX\LQJ�YLD�PRELOH�GHYLFHV. Mobility brings time into the conversation that’s happening between buyers and sellers. A search for a product from a moving car is very different than one from the desktop. An airline site visit from an airport is distinct from one at home.

The dimensions of customer expectations, as outlined in Figure 6, describe an imperative to provide information that’s relevant to the person, the device, the context and the moment.

The first order of priorities are essentially givens; roughly four in five marketers believe that providing relevant information regardless of channel and device is a clear and present demand from consumers.



Figure 6: Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Respondents: 326

The second rank is more nuanced, demanding more of marketers and their technology:

z .QRZLQJ�ZKDW�WKH�FXVWRPHU�ZDQWV based on past behavior is much more difficult in practice than in theory. Behavioral targeting has been in action for years across different digital media, and there is evidence for incremental improvement, but by itself the practice has limitations. Primarily, it cannot account for the routine complexity of consumers’ lives. Backwards looking information is usually fragmented and doesn’t reflect the context of current reality.

z .QRZLQJ�ZKHUH�WKH�FXVWRPHU�LV�DQG�ZKHQ adds a great deal to that context. Depending on sector, location may well be the most powerful variable available to marketers, but it’s only useful when coupled with time. For location, direction and speed to be relevant in many instances, they must be known and usable within a second (one reason why definitions of ‘real time’ are so important, as discussed in Section 3).

Of course, consumers wouldn’t explicitly state that they want a business to know where they are and when. Framed in that way, many would emphatically resist the notion in their desire for privacy. But in an increasingly mobile world, location and time are the foundation of a relationship built on utility. Historically, consumers make the considered choice to exchange information and privacy for value and convenience. It’s when companies fail to hold up their end of the bargain that customers are rightfully resistant and resentful.



Figure 7: How important to your future business success is it to achieve the following?

Respondents: 325

With consumer expectations on one side of the equation, Figure 7 explores the importance to businesses of fulfilling them. Again, there’s a divide between what’s relatively common today – device and profile-based optimization – and where the industry is headed in using past and present behaviors to optimize. Taken as a whole, however, all of the listed capabilities are reckoned to be ‘important’ or ‘fundamental’ by a majority of respondents.

Those numbers rise when specific groups are examined. Sectors such as travel and retail place a higher value on real-time capabilities than those in B2B verticals, for example. But as in the case for becoming ‘mobile-first’, few sectors are immune to changing customer needs. It’s simply a matter of time before time itself becomes a key variable for almost every sort of company when it thinks about selling to and servicing its customers.

Wise companies won’t wait for competitive pressures to force their hands to their wallets. In an era of commoditization and rapid product cycles, what allows businesses to thrive and enjoy margins higher than their industry’s average? There are only a few answers to that question.

You can have an elite brand or a throttle on particular products, both challenging to begin with and getting more so every day. Or you can be so efficient that more profit can be squeezed from standard pricing, which is hard to maintain at least where technology cycles are involved. The other option is to provide experiences that are so timely, convenient or pleasurable that they build loyalty and even encourage customers to evangelize about your brand.



One of the most disorienting shifts of the digital era is the EOXUULQJ�OLQH�EHWZHHQ�VHOOLQJ�DQG�VHUYLQJ. The growing role of content in the research process has caused many types of business to invest heavily in usefulness; documents, websites or apps, for example, that set their brands in an educational or valuable context.

It’s impossible to think of a consumer sector that hasn’t been affected by widgets, calculators, reports, finders, how-to videos, blogs and countless other pieces produced by companies, but are used by customers and non-customers alike.

A second trend, sparked by the lowering of brand affinity, is a QHZ�HPSKDVLV�RQ�FXVWRPHU�UHWHQWLRQ. With lower switching costs for digital and digital-enabled goods and services, it’s not easy to maintain customer relationships. A roughly equal competitor can snatch customers with a trick of pricing.

Smart companies in every industry have responded by investing in understanding their customers’ journeys to their brands and experiences with them. Armed with that knowledge they have produced better marketing, better products and, perhaps most importantly in a commoditized world, better interactions and experiences for their customers – those moments of convenience, surprise and delight that create a bond between a brand and a person.

The demand for value and the appreciation for convenience and pleasure add up to a mandate for companies to serve and even delight their customers and prospects. That’s only possible in a digital, mobile world if companies can act as fast as people think and feel.

People want to be caller number one, not caller number 15. They want to know that service will be restored in eight minutes. They want to know that the sweater they’re looking at is available in their size, and just got shipped. They want to know that they’d love a specific movie, a specific book or a specific hotel.

The challenge and promise of real-time marketing is to deliver these kinds of answers and experiences.



6. The Variables of Real-Time Marketing There’s been much coverage of Oreo and other brands such as TIDE, Calvin Klein and Audi acting quickly in order to capitalize on the stadium blackout during the 2013 Super Bowl. Although the real ROI benefit of Oreo’s famous “you can still dunk in the dark” tweet3 is unknown, the key takeaway is that a nimble organizational structure and strategy enabled them to respond quickly to what happened during the game.

But real-time marketing is not only about being agile enough to respond to breaking news, events or customers’ posts on social media channels near instantaneously, it’s about understanding what makes customers tick and being able to respond in a smart, creative and relevant way. Colin Mitchell, Worldwide Head of Planning at Ogilvy & Mather, argued that campaigns “need to be planned less and managed more.”

While it’s clear that real-time marketing has emerged as an exciting opportunity for marketers, most focus on social channels as the medium (and often output) instead of exploring alternative avenues. Some emulate what worked (or seemed to work) for other brands without thinking about how it fits with their own brand and messaging. It’s important to note that real time is not just about social, it’s just a different way of approaching marketing. In the words of Lee Nadler, Marketing Communications Manager at MINI USA, it’s a “shift from marketing archery to marketing ping pong” or being “prepared to be spontaneous.”4

To better understand what types of data typically underpin real-time marketing initiatives, we asked respondents to identify the ones they are using and how effective they find them.

Figure 8: Do you target or respond to customers in real time based on the following types of data?

Respondents: 262

3 https://twitter.com/Oreo/status/298246571718483968 4 https://www.ana.net/miccontent/showvideo/id/v-soc-dec13-mini-4



Research by Pew showed that three-quarters of US smartphone owners get directions or other information based on their location, so it’s not surprising that two in five (39%) companies surveyed use location data to target or respond to customers in real time. Interestingly, the status of location as the most commonly used variable for real-time marketing doesn’t translate into it being the most effective, though it is still pretty high in the pecking order. Just under a third (29%) of those using location data say this is ‘highly effective’ (Figure 9).

Increased usage of location data has been particularly fuelled by technology and recent developments will continue to drive this, including wearable technology as part of the so-called Internet of Things. Apple’s decision to support iBeacon in iOS7 means that apps will be able to communicate with in-store sensors and devices. Pinpointing the exact location of customers while they’re walking through a store can be extremely powerful and will (hopefully) lead to more relevant offers and opportunities.

Other powerful variables in the real-time marketing arena are weather and monetary or transactional information, with around three-quarters (74% and 80% respectively) of those using them indicating that they’re effective.

Figure 9: How effective are the different types of data types you use for responding to customers in real time?

Respondents: 78

Note: The sample for ‘weather’ was very small.

According to around a third of companies surveyed, the next most widely used variables are content viewed, behavioral, demographics and segment/persona. Taking into consideration the popularity of location information, one would expect mobile to play a more important role in real-time marketing efforts. Mobile has undoubtedly had a profound impact on consumer behavior and opened up new avenues for brands to engage with customers in real time. Despite this, only a



fifth of companies surveyed respond to customers in real time based on the devices or browsers they are using.

In other words, it might seem that few companies are delving into more sophisticated tactics. However, when looking at the relationship between perceived effectiveness and actual usage (Figure 10), it becomes apparent that the only missed opportunities are few and far between. While this is a fairly anecdotal inference due to the low number of companies saying they use transactional and weather variables, they might represent a quick win in terms of availability of data, impact and effectiveness.

Figure 10: The variables of real-time marketing: perceived effectiveness versus actual usage

Respondents: 262

The following examples show how some companies have started to move from basic behavioral triggers and are using more innovative ways to take advantage of data that isn’t hard to get a hold of or even particularly exciting at first glance:

z Taco Bell partnered with Waze, a crowdsourced navigation app used for driving, to push special offers to users in the vicinity of a Taco Bell restaurant. The locations are signposted on the map using ‘Branded Pins’ as drivers approach them and if they click on a pin, they can see custom campaign messaging.

The most interesting element of this campaign is that it’s not distracting drivers: only when the driver comes to a complete stop, a pop-up message promotes a location based on the driver’s route. As users select their destination, these ads are not only targeted to those who are in current proximity to a restaurant, but also to those who will be near one further up the road.



z Traditionally, fashion campaigns are grouped into two main categories throughout the year (spring/summer and fall /winter) and don’t take into consideration the sudden changes in temperature that might occur.

To increase the relevance of their ads, mail order fashion company La Redoute created Le Billboard Météo5, a campaign that used billboards with built-in temperature and rain sensors to display outfits based on weather changes in real time.

While there’s no hard evidence of ROI benefits for these companies, it will soon become clear that those who experiment will be the ones collecting the laurels and customers’ attention (and, implicitly, their money).

5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA4GF5a3xHE



7. Importance of Technology and Data There’s no doubt that technology and data are critical to real-time marketing success but, as evidenced below, they’re also the most prevalent pain points.

Figure 11 shows that only 12% of client-side respondents say their organizations are ‘highly effective’ at collecting customer information as it occurs. But those who combine customer data insights from disparate sources into one centralized database are nearly three times as likely to say their organizations are highly effective at collecting customer information (32% compared to 12% for the whole sample).

Figure 11: How would you describe your organization’s current effectiveness in the area of collecting customer information as it occurs?

Respondents: 265

Figure 12 on the next page shows how companies rate their capabilities in respect to both data (more broadly) and marketing technology. It can be seen that companies are significantly more likely to rate themselves as ‘weak’ (rather than ‘strong’) for data and, in the context of marketing technology, are more than twice as likely to give themselves a ‘weak’ rating.

Asked about obstacles to effective real-time marketing, lack of a unified customer database emerged as the most significant barrier, with two in five companies citing this. This is not surprising, as only a fifth of organizations indicate they combine customer data insights from disparate sources into one centralized database or data warehouse (Figure 15).

While client-side results show there’s no single stand-out issue with real-time marketing implementation, half of agencies consider that lack of knowledge and skills and company culture are the most significant barriers.

As with many digital disciplines, technology can unfortunately be part of the problem rather than the solution: just over a third of responding companies say that poor marketing technology is holding them back.



Figure 12: How do you rate your capabilities for real-time marketing in respect of data and marketing technology?

Respondents: 172

Figure 13: Thinking about your own organization or your clients, what are the greatest barriers to effective real-time marketing? Check up to three options





Figure 14: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Respondents: 234

Figure 15: Do you or your clients combine customer data insights from disparate sources into one centralized database / data warehouse?





8. Don’t Forget the Human Side of the Equation Every leap in marketing capability faces a set of hurdles that must be overcome before it can be put to best use. Many organizations tend to focus on the technical demands of real-time marketing (explored in Section 7) while paying less attention to the more important, human side of the equation.

z It’s never more important to devote time and energy to VWUDWHJ\ than when dealing with the new and unknown. This means laying out hard business goals and a set of experiments into how to achieve them. It’s also vital to include timelines and details of how performance will be measured. Success will not be reached without these signposts.

z A key element of that strategy must be EXGJHWLQJ�DQG�UHVRXUFLQJ. The most common pitfall in how new marketing practices are integrated is to emphasize technology over people, and under-resource the latter. It’s rare that a tool can increase capabilities without having a team assigned to making it perform. Role, responsibilities and time allocations should all be anticipated in the strategy, and should be regularly evaluated in practice.

z Few organizations will start this process with the VNLOOV�DQG�FDSDELOLWLHV they’ll ultimately need. Early assessment is essential to inform short and long term needs for training and hiring.

Figure 16: How would you describe your organization’s current effectiveness in the following areas?

Respondents: 263



Moving to true real time presents a challenge on all of these fronts. More specifically, teams lack the skills to maximize the returns of true real time. Only 6% of respondents say their companies are ‘highly effective’ at conceiving real-time strategies and tactics (Figure 16). Though a further 23% say they are ‘effective’ at doing this, this still leaves a majority of organizations who are ‘somewhat ineffective’ (45%), ‘highly ineffective’ (16%) or without any capability (11%).

The technology-driven practices at the forefront of digital marketing all share the challenge of tying strategy, creativity, technology and data together. Survey responses touch upon all of these as individual topics, but with the single underlying theme of FRPSOH[LW\ exacerbating these issues for real-time marketers.

One reason for this is the need to stitch together multiple sources of data before they can be used to power a real-time campaign or program. In Figure 17 we see that two in three organizations use at least five data sources in their marketing activities, with many using considerably more; this is part of an upward trend that seems likely to continue.

Figure 17: How many data sources does your organization currently utilize for marketing activities?


A second major contributing factor is that the workflow of real-time marketing often and necessarily crosses lines between skills and teams at most organizations. With every hurdle that has to be overcome, between marketing and tech, or email and analytics, the workflow slows.

If these individual sources have to be woven together across teams to support real-time marketing, every campaign and program presents difficulty – unless the people, processes and technology make it manageable.

z (YDOXDWH�WKH�SURFHVVHV�QHFHVVDU\�IRU�UHDO�WLPH�PDUNHWLQJ – the first step is to learn what it’s going to take to achieve the organization’s first set of goals. If those are to increase conversion rates in search and email, for example, it means plotting the steps by which segments will be identified, behaviors will be defined, events will be triggered, etc.



z With those processes in mind, leadership is in a position to DVVHVV�WKH�FDSDELOLWLHV�RI�WKH�WHDP, and develop a plan to add skills via training or hiring.

z Implementation of a technology-driven marketing capability often comes down to workflow – the day-to-day tasks that define success or failure. In the case of real-time marketing, it’s essential that leadership GHYHORS�D�ZRUNIORZ�WKDW�XVHV�WHFKQRORJ\�WR�KHOS�LWV�KXPDQ�WHDP.

Simply put, every step of the journey between concept and execution should be analyzed and optimized to be DV�HDV\�DV�SRVVLEOH. If marketers are caught in the weeds of stitching together data sources, or creating matrices of countless creative options, the success of a real-time program is in jeopardy. Companies evaluating technologies for real-time enablement should make sure that usability, practicality and innovation are present in equal measure.

Getting there isn’t easy, but marketing organizations that do the work to be exceptional at real-time marketing will have an advantage that goes beyond any single practice; they’ll be able to successfully bring the three fundamental elements of modern marketing – skills, data and technology – together to respond to new challenges.



9. The Near Future of Real-Time Marketing Every emergent technology and practice has to climb a mountain. At first, the grade simply goes up, with early adopters mapping the route with a few successes and many failures. Eventually, the whole of the mountain takes shape, as a small number of organizations get to the point of fully understanding and profiting from the innovation.

Real-time marketing is at that early stage of evolution, as shown in Figure 18 below, where a small minority (roughly 5%) consider themselves to have very effectively integrated technology, data and marketing skills. The rest of the responding organizations are still somewhere on the mountain, but making progress.

Figure 18: Which of the following statements best captures your organization’s experience with real-time marketing?

Respondents: 242

Paying attention to trends is important, but it’s budget that creates real opportunity, by supporting and emphasizing a new program or practice. Just as organizations are climbing the mountain of sophistication, they are also progressing from a theoretical, ad hoc commitment to a real effort around real-time marketing.

Today fewer than one in 10 organizations has budget and capability firmly in place, but that figure is growing quickly, with one in five respondent organizations reporting that there is budget in place in 2014, and plans or discussion under way at over 50% of respondent companies.



Figure 19: Are you planning to develop marketing capabilities around using real-time data?



The group that has the pieces in place comprises a small minority, but one that can inspire and reassure those just embarking on a real-time program.

z 7KH\�DUH�QRW�DOO�ELJ�FRPSDQLHV��Companies in this group skew toward the middle of our revenue ranges.

z 7KH\�UHIOHFW�D�UDQJH�RI�LQGXVWU\�VHFWRUV��No one sector dominates the list, which includes B2B and B2C companies in roughly equal measure.

z 7KH\�DUH�VXFFHVVIXO� Most importantly, those organizations that have made a commitment to real-time marketing are seeing results.

z 7KHLU�JRDOV�DQG�UHVXOWV�DUH�GLYHUVH��In addition to higher conversion rates and improved customer experience, they are also significantly more likely to cite benefits such as higher customer retention and average order value.

Slowly but surely, marketing organizations are taking the steps to add real-time capabilities, because they see that two related and important trends are at the center of the need for real-time messaging, marketing and customer service.

Firstly, mobile devices are powerful, location-aware computers that are increasingly integrated into our work and personal lives.

Secondly, control over commercial relationships has shifted toward consumers, giving them a vast choice in products and services. Businesses are coming to understand that successful selling means that they not only have to produce great products/services, they have to communicate their value in the narrow window when the consumer is paying attention.

The power of traditional search marketing is that the consumer self-selects static information about their interests. The power of real-time is that it gives the marketer the opportunity to know when the consumer is interested, and deliver a dynamic message in that moment.



Figure 20: ‘Real-time marketing is essential as behavior, device, place and time come together’

Respondents: 233



10. Appendix: Respondent Profiles Figure 21: In which country / region are you based?

Respondents: 869

Figure 22: What is your annual company revenue?




Figure 23: What best describes your job role?


Figure 24: Is your company mainly focused on business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C)?





Figure 25: In which business sector is your organization?

Respondents: 226

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