One brand, one Web site! DM Review is now the home of all the content you're used to at BIReview.com and much more. If you are registered at BIReview.com, you're already registered at DM Review. If not, take just a moment to sign up for all the free services we have for you at the new DMReview.com.
Take a Number
Like everyone else, I am inundated with offers to buy things. The billboards, television and website ads are incidental to my day, but I do get curious when companies approach me directly. Probably like you, I am exasperated by some of their pitches. How did someone conclude that I had a need for porcelain figurines or used farm equipment? Sometimes it's obvious how my name found its way to a direct mailing list. Buying a house is a sure way to attract a lot of refinance offers. Giving to a charity insures that many more will come knocking, right up the point where your contribution is erased by marketing costs.Conversely, when someone comes to me with an offer that appears custom made for my tastes, I'm impressed and pre-inclined to buy. How did they do that? In an information overload age where campaign success rates have plummeted, companies have had no choice but to learn how to sell smarter, and some are getting downright mathematical about it. In our cover story, Cox Communications CRM director Seymour Douglas details the marketing analytics strategy that helps Cox "make the right offer to the right customer at the right time." A trio of analysts pitch in with advice about what companies can and should expect from predictive analytics, and offer tips on how to set expectations and get started.
Directly following this story is a column from Babson College professor Tom Davenport, which describes how some very big companies are competing with analytics as a core competency. Tom's recent study of about 30 large corporations has been getting a lot of attention recently, and he might just change your opinion on the competition landscape of the future.
Next, consider Citigroup's Global Consumer Group, a massive consumer franchise with hundreds of millions of accounts. Connecting and leveraging account portfolios across lines of business requires an architectural approach to information, as Citigroup's Charlie DeFelice in our executive profile.
There's plenty more practical information in this issue of BI Review including an end user byline from Auto Club Group of Michigan, research from Accenture and valuable insights from our respected team of contributors. Please enjoy and as usual, send your comments and suggestions to me at james.ericson@sourcemedia.com.
Jim Ericson is editorial director of DM Review, a SourceMedia publication. You can reach him at Jim.Ericson@sourcemedia.com.
