Online marketers all want the same thing - for our customers to get what they want, when they want it, and with the fewest clicks possible. We already know that satisfied customers usually return, and now they share their experiences so the stakes have never been higher to get it right every time.

Getting to that point with online marketing may sound daunting, but the answers are all available in the customer data. Website tracking is a good first step, but the key to relevance is to take it real-time. To get there, you need to know what your customers are doing on your site, and you need to apply the analytics while there's still time to influence consumer behavior.

In addition, the value of data for customer insight isn’t just in viewing your customer or prospect through a digital lens. The value is realized when you can create the proverbial 360-degree view, and that requires stitching together that online data with your offline data stream. It’s easier said than done, of course, because data is seldom clean and ready to use, especially when so much of the best data is the unstructured kind that’s fueling “big data.”

How do we get there? It turns out there are 3 keys to unlock the value in your online marketing data:

1. Direct access to real-time data. Proprietary access without latency to granular, online data enables you to collect and own your online information at a detail level. The more detail, the better!
2. Automated preprocessing of data. Once organizations have access to their online data, they need to streamline and automate the preparation of this data for marketing and analysis with data management.
3. Advanced analytics and marketing automation. Organizations that achieve the first two keys can apply the recommendations of advanced predictive analytics and business rules together to optimize their online presence and marketing decisions.

More details about these three keys and more are available in Analytics in Real-Time Online Marketing, a conclusions paper of a webinar produced by the DMA of a webinar by SAS solutions architect Suneel Grover. This paper summarizes how Suneel showcases technologies that enable you to understand how customers interact with a website, to target the right customers (such as those who have expressed an interest in your product or service but have not yet made a purchase), and to personalize interactions with individual customers so the content or offers they get are timely and relevant.

Check it out and let me know what you think. And as always, thank you for following!