Industry experience suggests an offer presented during an inbound contact (via the web, ATM, contact center, point of sale, or social media for example) is 2-3 more times as likely to be taken up than if that same offer is made to the same person via an outbound communication.
But there is a danger here. Using inbound contact to then suggest an offer that is in fact poorly tailored to the customer's needs and interests can be received as an annoyance harming the customer experience. Equally there lies the danger of damaging the customer experience.
In selecting an automation solution, it is therefore very important that an organization considers whether automation would benefit its inbound as well as its outbound marketing. Marketers call this integrated approach "outbound/inbound Fusion."
Outbound/inbound fusion examples
Web: suppose you launch an email campaign. A customer or a prospect receives the personalized offer, clicks on a link and is taken to your website. Your marketing automation solution should recognize this event in real time and should present to the web site the most appropriate message for thatcustomer, related to the offer promoted in the email.
Social marketing: suppose you launch a cross-channel campaign to promote one of your products. Using one-to-one personalization, you've fully personalized emails, direct mails and SMS with individual promotions, additional products, etc. Let's say that in the meantime one of your target customers starts to follow your company on Twitter. The marketing automation solution should have the capability to automatically send to this customer a direct message, perhaps with a link to download a personalizedcoupon linked to the campaign you've just launched.
Technology for outbound/inbound fusion
Where outbound/inbound fusion is required, the marketing automation solution should:
• Enable real-time matching of the customer with the marketing SCV using email, phone number, name and address, customer number or other unique identifier
• Use an offers catalog and rule engine to immediately select the best offer, personalized for that customer's real-time circumstances and historical profile
• Present the offer via the inbound channel in use, the customer service representative and/or as a follow-up via an outbound mechanism if appropriate
• Pass the offer and the customer's response to the marketing SCV to ensure future campaign relevancy
It should be noted that some cross-channel marketing campaign automation solutions only cover outbound channels. Outbound/inbound fusion is becoming mandatory, at least for inbound web activity. Even if you are planning to explore it at a later date, it's important to select from the outset asolution that is capable of such fusion.
What benefits to expect?
One-to-one personalization has the power to improve customer engagement and ROMI. Measurable benefits accrue in multiple areas - from long-term revenue increases to reduced costs and improved brand perception with customers.
Potential benefits will depend upon the nature of the business, the marketing automation solution chosen, and how it is applied. Typical expectations for business benefit include:
• Improved sales and marketing metrics: one-to-one outbound and outbound/inbound fusion supports improved response and conversion rates of direct mail, email and mobile campaigns, as well as web site and social messages or offers. Up-sell and cross-sell revenues too can be expected to increase since offer suggestions will resonate better.
• Higher marketing productivity: one-to-one personalized messages can deliver greater results for less effort and expense than mass, or segmented campaigns. Costs reductions can be significant where cross-channel automation replaces channel separated/siloed approaches.
• Loyalty and brand recognition: The risk of campaigns missing the mark and frustrating the customer is reduced. Contents tailored to customers' needs will catch customers' interests. Even if the customer does not want to buy the product promoted, they're less likely to be aggravated by the offer. Abetter customer experience means higher retention and lifetime revenue.
• Greater agility: In an ever changing marketing world, marketing automation can enable marketers to adapt their strategies quickly.
To get more information about marketing automation, please go to Neolane.com
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Industry experience suggests an offer presented during an inbound contact (via the web, ATM, contact center, point of sale, or social media for example) is 2-3 more times as likely to be taken up than if that same offer is made to the same person via an outbound communication.
But there is a danger here. Using inbound contact to then suggest an offer that is in fact poorly tailored to the customer's needs and interests can be received as an annoyance harming the customer experience. Equally there lies the danger of damaging the customer experience.
In selecting an automation solution, it is therefore very important that an organization considers whether automation would benefit its inbound as well as its outbound marketing. Marketers call this integrated approach "outbound/inbound Fusion."
Outbound/inbound fusion examples
Web: suppose you launch an email campaign. A customer or a prospect receives the personalized offer, clicks on a link and is taken to your website. Your marketing automation solution should recognize this event in real time and should present to the web site the most appropriate message for thatcustomer, related to the offer promoted in the email.
Social marketing: suppose you launch a cross-channel campaign to promote one of your products. Using one-to-one personalization, you've fully personalized emails, direct mails and SMS with individual promotions, additional products, etc. Let's say that in the meantime one of your target customers starts to follow your company on Twitter. The marketing automation solution should have the capability to automatically send to this customer a direct message, perhaps with a link to download a personalizedcoupon linked to the campaign you've just launched.
Technology for outbound/inbound fusion
Where outbound/inbound fusion is required, the marketing automation solution should:
• Enable real-time matching of the customer with the marketing SCV using email, phone number, name and address, customer number or other unique identifier
• Use an offers catalog and rule engine to immediately select the best offer, personalized for that customer's real-time circumstances and historical profile
• Present the offer via the inbound channel in use, the customer service representative and/or as a follow-up via an outbound mechanism if appropriate
• Pass the offer and the customer's response to the marketing SCV to ensure future campaign relevancy
It should be noted that some cross-channel marketing campaign automation solutions only cover outbound channels. Outbound/inbound fusion is becoming mandatory, at least for inbound web activity. Even if you are planning to explore it at a later date, it's important to select from the outset asolution that is capable of such fusion.
What benefits to expect?
One-to-one personalization has the power to improve customer engagement and ROMI. Measurable benefits accrue in multiple areas - from long-term revenue increases to reduced costs and improved brand perception with customers.
Potential benefits will depend upon the nature of the business, the marketing automation solution chosen, and how it is applied. Typical expectations for business benefit include:
• Improved sales and marketing metrics: one-to-one outbound and outbound/inbound fusion supports improved response and conversion rates of direct mail, email and mobile campaigns, as well as web site and social messages or offers. Up-sell and cross-sell revenues too can be expected to increase since offer suggestions will resonate better.
• Higher marketing productivity: one-to-one personalized messages can deliver greater results for less effort and expense than mass, or segmented campaigns. Costs reductions can be significant where cross-channel automation replaces channel separated/siloed approaches.
• Loyalty and brand recognition: The risk of campaigns missing the mark and frustrating the customer is reduced. Contents tailored to customers' needs will catch customers' interests. Even if the customer does not want to buy the product promoted, they're less likely to be aggravated by the offer. Abetter customer experience means higher retention and lifetime revenue.
• Greater agility: In an ever changing marketing world, marketing automation can enable marketers to adapt their strategies quickly.
To get more information about marketing automation, please go to Neolane.com