The most successful marketing campaigns utilize data to nail the audience, the offer and the timing. But too often marketers rely on static “facts”. This person is a parent. This person has a child. This person has a certain income. It’s too easy to settle in with these safe, stable data points and forget there is a whole world of consumer-driven activity data that marketers can wrap their arms around – at scale – to take their performance to the next level. We’re talking about trigger marketing programs.
Earlier in my career, I developed a data-driven marketing program focused on identifying and targeting customers who had made a specific purchase. By analyzing our customers’ spend habits, we were able to predict when they would require subsequent purchases to complete their project. The goal of the program was to get an offer in the customer’s hands before they shopped with a competitor. In addition, speed and highly relevant messaging related to the project the customer was working on were important.
The result? The program generated double-digit response and increased engagement by a significant margin. The program’s success was based entirely on identifying a key event and responding when it occurred. This is what trigger marketing is all about.
Trigger marketing involves monitoring customers or prospects for key events and, once those events occur, engaging in a meaningful way to generate a response. Let’s brainstorm a few types of events or data points that could help your brand put a relevant and timely trigger marketing program on autopilot.
You could fuel your trigger marketing program by…
- First-Party Data. This is data that your brand captures directly from customer-initiated activities. This could include key response activities in marketing channels (email / SMS), website visits, purchases or any other activity that your brand has the ability to capture directly through customer engagement.
- Second-Party Data. This is data that is captured outside of the customers’ direct engagement with the brand but very similar in nature. Think of it as first-party data captured by someone else, perhaps from a co-marketing partner. Just like first-party data, it may include marketing channel engagement detail, website visits or purchase activity that the second-party has agreed to share with you.
- Third-Party Data. This is the data you can buy – like what Speedeon delivers. As it relates to trigger marketing, potential triggers may include key moments like birthdays, moves, engagements, weddings, or having a baby. Even more interestingly, you may also be able to tap into the online actions people are taking too, like searching for specific products, services or even shopping around with your competitors.
Besides the data, think about the answer to these questions too…
- Could this trigger generate incremental customer engagement or sales that otherwise wouldn’t have happened?
- What business rules could I apply to fine tune performance? Are geographic parameters needed? Are there certain audiences I should suppress or exclude?
- Will the marketing communication reach the consumer at the right time? If speed is key, which channels should I use to ensure that the message is received while the consumer is in-market for the product or service? If I go with direct mail, what postage class is required?
That’s where Speedeon comes in.
We’re writing a blog post about this topic, because, well – we love trigger marketing programs. We know they can deliver immense, ongoing value for brands. How do we help others?
- DATAWATCH Intel. Think of this like putting a Ring doorbell on your database. With DATAWATCH Intel, we ingest a list of your customer and/or modeled prospects. We then monitor these individuals around the clock for key life-event triggers. This could include moves, the birth of a child, engagements, marriages, birthdays as well as other potential indicators that suggest that someone is primed to engage with your brand.
- DATAWATCH Intent. With DATAWATCH Intent, Speedeon takes things up a level. Not only are we monitoring your customers or ideal prospects for offline, real-world changes, but we’re actually on the lookout for key digital signals and behaviors, like visiting certain types of sites or searching for the types or products and services your brand offers.
As soon as we see a trigger for your customer or prospects, you’re alerted, and the data is ready for you to use in your marketing programs.
Click here to find out more about Speedeon’s DATAWATCH offering or reach out and chat with someone here.
