Richard Fouts

Ah, the ultimate digital dream: right offer, right time, right context. As marketers, we’re getting closer, but the dream remains illustive.

For example, I love digital music services for their access to millions of songs. But therein lies both the good and the bad news. How do I decide what to listen to? The old phrase, surrounded by water without a drop to drink is amplified in a digital world because now we can inform our choices with hundreds of friends and thousands of strangers. But will I like what they like, even if they’re like me?

For example, my neighbor and I drive the same car and live in the same neighborhood. We’re even the same age, but that’s where our similarities end. Our tastes in everything else (including music) couldn’t be more different. Hence, putting us together through collaborative filtering could be a waste of time.

One firm that doesn’t want that to happen is Rhapsody who just announced it will integrate predictive analytics from KXEN into its Aprimo campaign management system. By integrating a predictive tools engine they give me recommendations that are more behaviorally relevant, more personal, and more timely.

As a marketer, what I find really cool: KXEN’s predictive analytics has an automated learning facility. If I’m a Rhapsody marketer, I’m not hampered by updating business rules; the system does that for me based on what’s really happening in real time. As research shows, marketers often write business rules that echo their own biases. And of course, they expire.

It’s good news for Aprimo customers – or anyone invested in lead nurturing and scoring because it increases the ROI of an investment in Aprimo. With predictive analytics and automated learning, everyone wins. Customers love offers and recommendations that are more relevant, more useful. Marketers love being relieved of constant updating of rules (that probably weren’t that good anyway).

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Category: Uncategorized     Tags: digital marketing

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