{"id":7514,"date":"2023-04-12T07:07:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T07:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=7514"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:25:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T13:25:52","slug":"what-is-real-time-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/what-is-real-time-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does \u2018Real-Time Marketing\u2019 Really Mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re like most marketers, you\u2019ve been hearing the term \u201creal-time\u201d a lot lately. And you\u2019ve probably been wondering, what is real-time marketing? Are we delivering content in seconds? Milliseconds? Even faster?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can sound like marketers need to live in the world of the Oscar contender Everything Everywhere All at Once. Not necessarily. What matters is that you reach your customers<\/a> when they need to be reached, with the right experience. Real-time marketing is not so much having all the answers all the time, but giving customers what they need when they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can a customer data platform do?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fueled by real-time data, a customer data platform<\/a> can help take your marketing team to the next level, while keeping cost efficiency in mind. Our guide shows you what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the concept of real-time marketing and show some ways leading brands use it<\/a> to win customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is real-time marketing and how does it use real-time data?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A search for \u201creal-time marketing\u201d reveals a grab bag of definitions. They range from the vague (\u201csystematically responding to your customers\u201d) to the prescriptive (\u201cfocusing on \u2026 customer feedback\u201d). It seems as though nobody knows what time it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the difference between real-time data and real-time marketing. Real-time data is processed and available for use right after it\u2019s captured. That\u2019s milliseconds. For example, the GPS on your phone captures your location and recommends a driving route in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while it\u2019s important to capture and process data quickly, it\u2019s not always necessary to act on it right away. This is especially true in marketing when the customer drives the journey. Real-time does not have to mean right now. It\u2019s delivering the information when the end user needs it. That could be seconds or even hours later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel and hospitality<\/a> is a very time-sensitive business. If a customer\u2019s digital profile isn\u2019t accurate at the moment, it can trigger unfortunate events. When this happens, a passenger misses their flight or doesn\u2019t get the right seat \u2014 and airs their grievances on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a customer changes their seat or flight on the airline\u2019s app or website, they expect it to show up in their experience right away. When they later go to a kiosk or a service counter or call customer care, they expect \u2014 quite reasonably \u2014 that the service agent is up to date. The customer also likely assumes the airline won\u2019t send them irrelevant emails or offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This example shows us the difference between real-time data and real-time marketing. Real-time systems should update customers\u2019 profiles right away. On the other hand, real-time marketing should happen at whatever speed is the right one for the customer \u2014 whether that\u2019s today, in five minutes, or next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are implications for the marketers\u2019 back-end data processing systems and resource requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the customer is on the website or app, they expect their actions to be processed in milliseconds (under a second). But there\u2019s no reason the contact centre can\u2019t be updated in seconds and the email system within minutes, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Managing response rate requirements can lower costs and complexity, as long as they don\u2019t impact the customer experience.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

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What do marketers mean when they say \u201creal-time\u201d?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On most occasions, when marketers say real-time, what you really mean is right-time. What is real-time marketing, really? It\u2019s delivering the right data at the right time, to the right systems, to better connect with customers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n