This new piece from Forrester is dead on and timely. The realisation of the sea change confronting marketing as a result of Internet is
Marketing is in a state of crisis. New consumer behaviors, interactive channels, pressure to improve the ROI of marketing spending, and the challenges of integrating marketing programs require that companies rethink marketing’s role, redefine the marketing organization, and build new processes. Technology is crucial to this transformation. This workbook explains that success requires a technology backbone that:
1) integrates marketing programs across channels and lines of business;
2) optimizes customer contacts;
3) tracks customer data; and
4) measures performance across the marketing mix.
This is a thread we picked up here, and here, amongst others. The point is that the power and alternate behaviour that has arrived with Internet, requires a rethink of traditional marketing behaviours such as direct mail, and television advertising.
The new marketing is driven by customer requirement, not by campaign timing. This requires a rethink of how we market, and how the technology operates that supports marketing.
tags: marketing, pinkomarketing
Bankwatch 
Colin this is a brilliant study
Thanks
Colin,
The problem is that many of the banks do not realise the power of the data they collect on their customers every day. With the use of credit and debit cards and the resulting data trail all the information needed to accurately predict what products are likely to prove attractive are there. The marketing power of this would be tremendous.
The problem gets down to privacy and managing the customer reaction to this. If the customers knew this was being tracked and then they were being targetted on it the reaction may be adverse.
Its interesting because I would have said the same thing, but there is another school of thought laid out by the same author at Forrester that says:
“Marketing is now shifting focus from core infrastructure elements — like the customer data mart and data mining technologies — to technologies that support optimization of customer interactions and marketing processes.”
http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,38759,00.html
Colin,
I think the shift presupposes the data mart and mining are there. Maybe we are a generation behind in our data use here – or we just have stronger privacy laws.
I keep receiving marketing information from the banks I deal with that has no relevance to me as a customer. Most of it just ends up in the bin (oops, trash) and I cannot remember a single instance where I have bought a product off the back of it. The waste, both of materials and time, is large.
Thats an excellent point as it applies to Banks. Much of Bank marketing is still based on Agency work, and externally purchased lists. The internally generated stuff that I see is often non-intelligent, in the sense that it is not based on nature of purchasing behavioural information you reference above. When I say non-intelligent, its often as simple as:
– customer has bank account, and X balances
– has mortgage
– therefore must be a candidate for a line of credit
ozrisk, you’re dead on. Despite the massive amounts of money banks have poured into data warehouses, CRM and BI they still don’t have a clue how to use any of it. Take it from a former MIS manager now on the business side of things.
I’m sure it’s the same at any company: to really understand how to properly capture *and* properly use data, you have to be both a database geek and a customer advocate. How many people do you know who understand 3rd normal form as well as marketing strategy? 🙂
Marketing people ask for customer databases. Geeks provide them. Marketing people then do what they’ve always done: generate a static list so they can call people or send them mail. Six months later, by the time the list is generated, it’s out of date and the bank’s missed dozens of opportunities to intelligently interact with the customer real-time.