Customer Experiences

When I began working in CRM and analytics, brands segmented audiences in a highly rigid, top-down way. For example, to attract high-value customers (HVCs), they targeted consumers based on a single demographic attribute—for example, a high-income zip codes. Two decades into my career, I still see many brands approach customer data segmentation this way.  …

Consumers are drowning in totally irrelevant marketing messages. Ironically, this makes them even more eager to hear messages from brands that can cut through the noise and guide them to the products and offers that are truly relevant. “Customers are constantly telling brands what motivates them and what turns them off– from the purchases they…

Marketers are often focused on acquiring new customers, and rightly so. That is critical to growing a brand. However, they only begin to deliver long-term value when they are able to ensure repeat business with that customer. And in the digital age, securing that all-important second purchase is no mean feat. “When consumers have so…

In today’s data-driven marketing department it is easy to get sucked into a complete focus on the customer’s next move. Marketers can find themselves chasing a sale, a e-book download, a click — trying to elicit that next action that signals marketing success. But what happens when marketers lose focus on the larger vision while they…

Consumers’ expectations have changed. Blame it on Amazon or the ever-present smartphone, but customers expect immediate results, personalized marketing, instant delivery and authentic connections with brands all at once, delivered to the palm of their hands. This is the new digital divide, the expectations of customers whether they are on mobile, email or in-store contrasted…

Every modern marketer knows that data is key to delivering superior customer experiences. But fewer know how to turn raw data into true customer insights that power that strong relationship with each customer. There is an art and a science to great customer relationships. Data can deliver the science of analysis, optimization and personalization. But…

Four years ago, back in July 2013, Seth Godin threw shade on Data Analytics in Marketing by stating “Perhaps you could just make something awesome instead“. Seth is one of the most respected Marketing Minds in America, and this is how he put it then: “Mass marketers love the promise of big data, because it whispers the…

Marketers often ask me “what are low hanging fruits for AI?” My answer is always the same, the two promising areas are triggers and personalization. There are many products in the market that promise trigger events (emails, mobile messages) and product personalization (people that bought this bought that, Amazon-style). These approaches are not bad but…

Harvard Business Review editor in chief Adi Ignatius recently interviewed Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, on how the brick-and-mortar retail giant is adapting to the digital age. The Walmart board hired McMillon as CEO in 2014 to bring the company into the future without disrupting the franchise. Walmart’s case illustrates how the biggest challenge of…

Every morning, many of our employees at ActionIQ commute from New York’s boroughs into our headquarters here in the heart of Manhattan. Anyone who has ever navigated the streets of New York knows that the number of ways to travel from Points A to B in our city are seemingly infinite. Whether you are facing…