The Present is the Future

November 27, 2018

Understanding the historical data of your consumers is important, but real-time data is critical to the modern customer journey.

In his article on Forbes, “Transforming The Customer Experience: Personalization,” Dale Renner, CEO and Founder of RedPoint Global, posits that “A frictionless customer experience can only be enabled through real-time engagement that spans touch points and multistage journeys.”

Mapping out a customer journey can begin with historical data, but should be expanded upon with real-time data. Applications, social media, and multiple other digital channels allow for the strategies to remain fluid, able to pivot and adjust as consumers make decisions that determine how they do or may interact with a brand or product. This information can also allow marketers to know where the consumer is in their customer journey with that brand.

Once a customer’s real-time data is accessible, it can allow for interactions through the same channels in which it is monitored, expanding their relationship with the brand. Further expanding on this idea in his article, “The Customer Journey Data Dilemma: Real-Time Versus Historical Data,” Mark Smith, President of Kitewheel, writes, “If a customer completes a purchase, a company can use this real-time data to immediately share a reward toward a future purchase, creating a personal, positive interaction and laying the groundwork for that person to become a repeat customer.”

Customers aren’t static, they evolve. For example, customers who once enjoyed receiving marketing messages through email may now prefer to receive through text or ads on Facebook. Tracking real-time data allows for companies to adapt with their consumers, using information from the present to lay the groundwork for a future together.