All about Technology: Industry voice: Big data in marketing: how to gain the advantage

We create a staggering 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, according to a report from IDC. In fact, these days we create so much that it's estimated 90 per cent of all of the data in the world today has come about in the last two years alone.

It's no surprise more and more data is being generated as internet-connected devices increase, big data infiltrates our daily lives and consumers gain more comfort about sharing their details with brands.

Consumer attitudes are evolving – recent research commissioned by Webtrends found that, contrary to perceptions of 'Big Brother', more than half of Britons say they're not bothered about the amount of data they share with brands.

Younger Brits are especially keen to share – 68 per cent of 18-24 year olds aren't concerned by the amount they share, followed by 64 per cent of 25-34 year olds. These generations have grown up in a far more connected, data-centric world and often recognise the "tit for tat" benefits of sharing personal info with their favourite brands.

Using data to capitalise on value of real-time insight

As these attitudes evolve further, the door is open for your business to be more creative and innovative in how you use data to give customers the personalised, exciting and engaging experiences they seek. Big data is a key part of the equation to understanding exactly who your customers are and how you can engage with them.

With widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets, you can accumulate 'in-the-moment' data that can help to develop truly personalised, relevant, real-time connections with your target audiences in ways that were once unimaginable.

In an increasingly digital era, consumers have come to expect immediate, personalised experiences online, and the control of how and if they engage remains firmly in their hands.

This means successful engagement and conversion may come down to a matter of seconds. Businesses need to have the tools and solutions in place to be able to offer customers the instant experiences they seek. This is where real-time insight comes into its own.

The ability to analyse customer data within minutes enables you to quickly respond to your customers' needs as they occur. Real-time analytics provide intelligence into visitor movement to, from and within a site. Using this, you can modify messaging, content and offers on the fly to make your customer interactions more relevant. This encourages engagement and in turn increases sales conversions.

Insights in action

For example, using real-time insight, you can see which products are being viewed by a customer on your website. You can then serve up links to other relevant products indicated by their preferences and behaviour online, or deliver personalised discounts and offers that increase the likelihood of converting the sale.

These actionable insights can also be used to inform future plans for campaigns to target consumers and encourage them to visit your website or engage with your brand, maximising the effectiveness of your marketing spend.

Case study: How KLM used real-time insights to quadruple email conversions

In 2011, international airline KLM implemented an email solution to share general customer offers and updates. This broadened over time to target online customers who viewed flight details but failed to make a booking. These potential customers were flagged to KLM's system, and would be sent an email encouraging them to make a purchase. This email would typically arrive eight or nine hours after their interaction on the KLM website.

In recent years the online travel market has become more fast-paced and KLM realised it needed a solution that would allow it to identify these interested visitors within minutes after they had interacted with the brand – a more optimal timeframe for successful retargeting.

The following year, KLM implemented Webtrends Streams®, the world's first real-time data intelligence and analytics solution. Using real-time data captured by Streams, such as flight destination and date, KLM can immediately react to a potential customer who may abandon their booking by emailing them a personalised, targeted message within minutes of leaving the site to entice them back and complete the sale.

Since implementation, KLM has seen significant uplift in conversion through email retargeting. Within the first few weeks, testing of emails sent in local languages showed that KLM saw conversion rates quadruple – and this success has been maintained. Of the emails sent using Streams intelligence, KLM has seen a 34 per cent higher open rate and a 94 per cent higher click through rate from these targeted messages.

Additionally, this real-time data has allowed KLM to identify where it may 'lose' customers in the sales journey, and enabled it to optimise the user experience, encouraging the customer to complete their purchase during their visit to the site.

Using data for contextual personalisation

The ability to analyse data in real-time also gives businesses – especially retailers – an unprecedented opportunity to extend their customised experiences to customers in both the online and offline ("real life") worlds.

Personalised marketing has previously involved combining what we know about a user's profile e.g. their age, gender and nationality, with what they have previously engaged with online, to understand their typical behaviour and what they may be receptive to.

What's been missing, though, is the ability to analyse this data and combine it with real-time information to get a full picture of that user at that very moment in time. This 'in-the-moment' browsing data could include the device a customer is using, their specific location and their stage in the purchase cycle.

Combining known user information with the environment in which they are engaging with a brand to offer a real-time, relevant and engaging experience is known as contextual personalisation. Contextual personalisation maximises the potential of your data, allowing brands to meet a user's specific needs at that exact moment in time – giving the customer what they want, when they want it and where they want it.

Marketers can also marry the online world with the 'real' offline world through contextual personalisation. Imagine if you knew what your customers wanted before they even entered your store – everything from their shopping habits, likes, dislikes and previous purchases.

Understanding customers more deeply then ever

This information is powerful and can be used to provide a highly personalised, user-centric in-store experience, encouraging positive brand perception and ultimately driving sales. Combine this with new technologies such as Apple's iBeacon and you can use what you know about a consumers' online behaviour to market to them in-store and encourage offline sales.

Let's have a look at how this could work with a customer example. Jen is a fashion fan and enjoys shopping for clothes, both online and in-store. When she is on her favourite designer's website she is looking for inspiration for her wardrobe and may even be ready to purchase if she likes what she sees, or gets an offer she can't refuse.

Modern technology allows you to understand what she has looked at previously and align it with her current online behaviour and external data such as geo-location and weather to provide a personal and relevant experience.

For example, you could show pages that reflect the great weather she's enjoying that day in Devon by recommending a collection of summer dresses. Likewise if she is visiting Edinburgh, where it's raining, you could highlight the latest range of colourful macs. Even if she does not put anything in her basket at that time, you can use the historical and real-time data you've collated to send her a retargeting email within minutes to offer a deal based on the products she has looked at, perhaps including a time-sensitive incentive to purchase.

Combining this with broadcast technologies like iBeacon, an 'offer' could be triggered when Jen is in the proximity of her selected retail store. This could be designed in such a way as to entice Jen to visit the store because the products in her recent browsing history are in stock.

Avoiding Big Brother

To some people, the idea of real-world targeting will sound intimidating and invasive. Isn't this Big Brother for the 21st century? As always, it's all about the implementation.

If you blast a message to everyone who walks past your store about a sale on jeans, there's a high chance it will irritate, rather than stimulate recipients. Therefore it's important that brands communicate with consumers in a way that doesn't simply bombard them with annoying or unwanted messages, but instead proposes recommendations, offers and experiences tailored to their wants and likes.

Our research reveals that just 19 per cent of consumers say they don't respond more positively when they receive personalised content from brands, and almost half (44 per cent) find personalised recommendations useful.

A virtuous data sharing circle

Contextual personalisation hinges on a brand's ability to gather and analyse its user data. There is a common misconception that getting data from a potential customer to begin engagement is difficult and that consumers are extremely guarded with their data.

However, in addition to showing that UK consumers are increasingly relaxed about data sharing, our research found that even reluctant consumers can be persuaded to share personal data in exchange for special offers or discounts. One in three say they could be persuaded to give up their personal data for a discount on clothes (36 per cent), free delivery (31 per cent) or a discount on a holiday or travel (28 per cent).

Big data allows you to tailor engagement to make it much more relevant to an individual customer. The positive experiences generated by the interactions between your business and your customers ultimately breeds trust.

This leads to a virtuous circle where consumers see you continue to enhance and personalise their experiences, their perception of your brand improves and they will be more willing to share their data with you, allowing you to personalise further. A win-win for you and your now loyal customers.