At Being we recognise the importance of deploying digital communications technologies to align with and impact business and marketing objectives and using technology to support this, rather
than leading with technologies and applications.

We consider how to apply these technologies which form online channels to market - web, e-mail, databases, mobile/wireless and digital TV - to build and develop relationships with customers.

We believe that it should not be the technology that drives digital marketing, but the business returns from gaining new customers and maintaining relationships with existing customers.  However the right technology and the right investment will help support this process.

Increasingly we see digital marketing as conversation – helping our clients listen to their customers, facilitate and then create advocacy whether its through viral marketing or social networking.  But how do you have multiple conversations maybe all going on at the same time I hear you ask?

Firstly it's about the data – the customer journey. All of your website users will be at differing stages in that journey – first time vistor or loyal advocates. As with any conversation, dialogue should be based on customer insight or knowledge of customers developed by researching their characteristics, behaviour, what they value, what keeps them loyal and then delivering tailored web and e-mail communications.

Then that's when your technology should take over – multiple relevant conversations... listening, facilitating!

Often automated customer communications are limited to basic auto responses. However there is a lack of refinement in automated online customer communications such as triggered email marketing targeting customers at different points in the customer lifecycle. If the right technology, resource and time is devoted to setting up these communications rather than specific campaign emails, this can give relevant, responsive communications in the context of the customers position in their relationship / lifecycle with the company.

Once these automated campaigns are created and refined, they will be highly cost-effective and present unified brand communications.

E-mail marketing is very important to customer retention since it can provide low-cost, personalised communications which target individuals' specific behaviour and needs. For e-mail marketing to be effective, it requires the right tools and analysis of customer purchasing and communications preferences. This is the challenge since it requires integration of customer behaviour data including web site clickstreams, e-mail response patterns and transactional data. It also requires analysis of this data to find related products (next-best products) and efforts to devise appropriate campaigns suitable for different behaviour types.

This is touch strategy definition and execution which will define appropriate combinations of timing, targeting, product and promotional offers and creative for outbound communications including e-mail, direct mail and telesales. With careful analysis and definition of touch strategy, automated event-triggered messaging can be just one channel to create unlimited conversations you can easily manage.