According to authors, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) creates several opportunities for retailers to improve their customer services , insights and business processes. AI makes it possible to generate insights on a scale like never before, it does this by combining customer data  across all platforms( from social media to CRM) like past purchases, search habits, click behavior, age, gender, season of the year and various other variables and self learning algorithms. By crawling the web and aggregating various forms of customer data, AI gives retailers the opportunity to engage with customers on a more personal level. Through chat applications such as Facebook and Messenger and by using chat bots on websites, the potential customers can communicate with the retailers using speech or text, that will assess and answer customer queries, thereby assisting in the selection process and helping in the execution of simple tasks. Read more at https://aitrends.com/retail/robots-ai-retail-8-things-must-know/

Customers who have made purchases with a business once, make up a significant chunk of customer database. The second purchase is a key milestone in the customer journey. Now, using data, certain areas should be focused on first time customers that can help to push these customers into their second purchase. They are:

• A varied basket – with items from multiple departments – doubles the chances that a customer will make a second purchase.

• By offering discounts.

• Returns predict a higher customer lifetime value.

Optimizing these above factors can attract many customers on a long term basis. Read more at http://www.optimove.com/blog/ecomm-using-data-push-customers-second-purchase

Digital marketing is becoming a popular trend nowadays. It not only provide us in depth knowledge of our customer needs, but also real time info graphics. So here are six easy way to understand how to capitalize digital marketing from blogger to marketers. 1. Identifying audience will allow you to target your marketing strategy directly to the people who are willing to commit to a purchase, sign up or contact you directly.

2. Understand the most important platform where can you find your customer in the social section. 

3. Convert a new customer to a loyal one by providing lots of offers and facilities for his/her first visit to your website

 4. Create a quality content and make it more relevant to your customer. It will eventually increase your SEO.

5. To facilitate a powerful presence in social sector or digital media you need a well-trained PR team 

6. The best thing about digital marketing is that you can take advantage of numerous online tools to get incredibly accurate data about the effects of your campaign. So always analyze.

To read, follow: https://tech.co/6-ways-improve-digital-marketing-strategy-2016-05

Marketing has undergone transformation over years. Marketers can now measure every aspect of what customers do with a variety of metrics. Engaging with my audience to convert to sales is the key to marketing. While promoting products and services, marketers should be aware of how their brand is perceived by the audience which indicates how to communicate with them. Knowing how demographics react to different promotional strategies will help marketers formulate targeted marketing campaigns. Marketers should use social media to check what people are saying about a particular campaign and thus capture the customer sentiment. Thus the best marketing campaigns are those that are edgy and experimental. Read more about this article by Gabrielle Morse (Global Events Director) at: https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/the-4-golden-rules-for-collecting-marketing-data

The success of the startup is not dependent on the idea, but it depends on getting the customers. As a startup, getting customers is one of the biggest challenges. 
Jeff Foster (Co-Founder and CEO of Tomoson), discussed about few tips to get your first 1000 customers. Some of them are:
• Setup a waiting list
• Use personal network
• Target online publications
• Get bloggers on your side
• Build suspense
• Work with early adopters
• Create high quality content
• Offer a free product option
• Incentivize customers to sell your product
• Online advertising
Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247049

SAP is undergoing a huge transformation, it is now focusing on empowering the customer by developing applications. SAP Labs India has developed a range of applications applicable to a variety of sectors so as to empower the cosumer;transforming from a core B2B approach to a B2B2C approach by understanding the needs of their customer's customers. The B2B2C process involves the principles of Design Thinking in conjunction with a Co-Innovation Partner to develop deep insight into the final consumer's mindset and market realities. Design Thinking is a mindset backed by a suite of tools that gives SAP Labs a powerful new way to solve problems and unlock potential. The SAP Co-Innovation Lab (COIL) Network facilitates project-based co-innovation with its members which enhances the capabilities of SAP's partner and customer ecosystem through an integrated network of world-wide expertise, and best-in-class technologies and platforms. The Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) strategy is a cultural, business and leadership imperative for SAP. With the growing importance of consumerization of technology, the focus is to understand the end-user of our systems and products where consumers ultimately determine the success of the organization. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/297364/sap-bets-consumerization-focuses-b2b2c-approach

Email is one of the oldest tools which is still relied upon by the marketers. There is lot of information on optimizing email marketing but not all are true. To make email marketing as effective as possible it is first necessary to separate out the information which one can believe from ones to discard. Myth 1: Consumers are drowning in emails from trusted brands. Myth 1: Consumers are drowning in emails from trusted brands. 60% receive less than 6 mails per day. Myth2: Best time to mail is at 3 pm on Thursday. Only 21% of purchases happen within 2 days of sending mail. Myth 3: You should stop sending to inactive users after 6 months. They are still alive. Myth 4: Consumers mark email as spam. One out of 2000 does this. Myth 5: More the emails sent by brands, ignorance from customer’s side increases. Number of consumers checking the mail increases, increasing revenue. Myth 6: Short subject lines give better results. Over 70 characters increase clicks. Myth 7: Because of subject lines, email lands up in spam folder. According to 540bn emails sent till date, ‘spam’ keywords have little effects on ending up in spam folder. Read more at: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-myths-infographic

20-30% of the business decisions really need the use of advanced techniques like predictive analytics.   70-80% of marketing decisions can be judiciously carried with simple analytics techniques. A CMO broadly expects 3 key outcomes for his business:

• Bring more “future” customers in the most cost-effective manner.

• Convert those who come to the door into customers.

• Maintain the current customers “buying.”

Predictive Analytics need advanced skills and constant maintenance. A product manager or an operations manager equipped with the right “Data to Decisions” framework and easy access to data can optimize 80% of their daily workflow on their own, without having to depend on little and costly analytics resources. For 20% of decisions, where the potential ROI justifies the use of advanced techniques, they can work with their analytics counterpart. In summary, a smart CMO knows that a marketing team equipped with a “Data to Decisions” framework and easy access to data without the company of a data science team would emerge much better than a marketing team lacking data skills supported by a large data science team.  Read more at: 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/piyankajain/2013/05/26/the-8020-rule-of-analytics-every-cmo-should-know/

There are two myths that need to be disproved about Marketing Research: Expensive and time intensive. The internet has two important sources of information: Firstly, the websites which companies, organizations and individuals have created to promote or communicate their products, services or views; secondly, user groups that are made up of people who have an interest in a particular industry or subject. A few tips work well for internet market research. One should draft a list of questions and ask the same questions of every customer, to obtain better comparisons and validate the data. There are many free online survey cloud options to collect information. One should look for a free package that provides a link to the survey which he can post the link on social networks and email out to the customer or subscriber base – ensuring to get a feedback from people. He may offer an incentive prize that will be appealing to the audience, if he wants to improve survey response rates. Read more at: 

There are many CRM packages, the best ones linked to accounting software systems, that provide easy storage of customer and supplier information to answer the questions of who, what, how much, where and when your customer buys. Internet technology today has reduced costs and shortened time frames by using online surveys. A major criticism of internet surveys is that that they don't represent an accurate sample of the population and so a skilled marketing research person really adds value that is worth paying for. There are two tests for accuracy and soundness of the marketing research results: A skilled marketing research person ensures validity and reliability by accurately defining the problem to be solved; the correct questions to ask; and whether there are other cost-effective ways to get the result. After gathering the information from the correct primary sample; a skilled marketing research person adds value by being able to spot differences, draw conclusions and make recommendations.To know more, follow the link: 

Relying on very basic customer information such as demographics to influence marketing campaigns and limited internal sources and fragmented marketing systems limits sending personalized mails to customers. For companies having multiple marketing agencies and technology partners demographics cannot alone give a complete view of audiences as it leaves other important information. Customer relationship management programs relies on basic data which excludes customer nuances and encourages the mentality that marketers own and drive customer conversation which is no longer true. Due to CRM programs customers put little effort in knowing their customers. On the other hand using resources which contains a vast array of information about the customers enables a better interaction between customers and the brand. Customer Managed Relationship is the better option over CRM these days. To achieve a personal connection with customers, marketers should follow three key rules, namely communication, consistency and trust. Witty comments, 24/7 service or multichannel experience, sending similar number of mails in similar language and color schemes in all channels, personal messages, giving consumers what they expect might do the trick.

Engaging with different channels to get a better understanding of customers and targeting customers specifically using CMR is important. Brands should use CMR based marketing strategy to consider customers purchase behavior and social engagement. Further brands can create rich, useful content to guide customers into repeat purchases. Customers now want to tell brands how to engage with them using necessary technology instead of brands driving into a conversation with customers. Thus all marketers have to listen and adapt.

Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/crm-dead-now-0947236#!bibims

Today,banks are using analytics to control frauds in electronic payments. Private banks such as HDFC Bank have implemented analytics software. The thing is that the out-of-the way transaction would decline if one fails to respond to a phone call or message immediately after the transaction. There are two kinds of fraud detection in payments- One is during the transaction, and the other is using analytics to identify suspicious transactions based on past behaviour. Banks are now specializing in the analytics part. According to an official of an analytics software company that provides banks with software to detect frauds, the software can be used to personalize services, like ATMs, for customers depending on their preferences. Read more at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Banks-use-analytics-to-check-fraud-in-online-payments/articleshow/38347410.cms

Those in the managerial level want data to back up assumptions. We can’t formulate decisions on a raze sensation, or what we recognize our rivals are doing, or what we believe our consumers desire. A lot of time companies have no perception of their purchase. So to ignore taking bad decisions, data is used to back it up. Analytics is checked to see what public are doing. So what are business analytics and how do we acquire them? At this level of analytics we need to know our rivals, and what their digital outlets are. We require a digital fingerprint of the rivalry, and we should also have a good knowledge of our market. What people are wanting and giving the services we propose. Information of the industry is very important to make a plan to assess the true data, and then make an approach that originates our expedition  . Read more at:

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/whats-going-your-industry

Email still remains one of the best communication methods for buyers and consumers. Marketers should use the benefits of email marketing given the ease with which emails are delivered in the inbox. Certain variables which should be considered before sending an email, like send times to subject lines. The following are the six essential steps foe email creation:

1. Segment Your Audience: The marketer should have a clear idea about the target audience before deciding on a send time and the content of the email.

2. Create Your Content: The content of the email should depend on the interest and need of the target customer.A compelling subject line  and call to action is must.

3. Build Your Email: After creating the content the email template should be created. Images and call to action buttons to break up text should be included if possible.

4. Conduct Deliverability Tests: It’s important to conduct an email deliverability test to avoid the possibility of the email not getting delivered to the customers inbox.

5. Choose Your Send Time: Send times are not fixed, and they often  varies from one customer to another. As a general rule of thumb, emails should be sent during business hours in the morning or in the early afternoon, right after lunch.

6. Track and Analyze: Open rates, click-through rates, and email bounces should be tracked to see what content is resonating with the audience, which subject lines work best, and which areas could use improvement.

To know more, go to: http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/email-campaign

A clear marketing plan and prior knowledge about your customer and the sales process is necessary before using any Customer Relationship Management(CRM). CRM is affordable and simple for organizing your primary market structure. Without having proper details about the customer's past and present status it is quite difficult to serve and approach them. A customer relationship management allows accessing such information about one's customers and enhances sales for future business. Advancement in technology keeps access to customers always high whether we have open source package or home grown CRM.  Defining  your business customers through information is rampant in the internet and then organizing and referencing it lets us achieve our sales goal irrespective of which particular CRM plan we use. Read more at: http://journalstar.com/business/local/small-talk-establish-marketing-plan-before-choosing-crm-service/article_e330e485-9637-5758-9ee5-d9657514867e.html

To boost manufacturing and entrepreneurship in the country, Flipkart (Indian e-commerce company)  announced its tie up with Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) promotion bodies. Strong data analytics that forms the base of e-marketplaces will help the sellers to improve their products easily and attract more customers. According to the Executive Director of NCDPD (National Center for Design and Product Development), analytics and market intelligence provided by Flipkart will assist NCDPD in improving their products and R&D and also enable the craftsmen to create better saleable products. The objective of this tie-up is to continue helping entrepreneurs to create products according to buyer requirements and grow significantly by expanding their business so that they may become manufacturers not only at a local but also at a national level. Read more at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-18/news/50678912_1_data-analytics-flipkart-market-data.

In India, banking industry plays an important role in ensuring the sustainable growth through more credit flows and reaching out to more people by financial inclusion. Thus, the retail banking systems has to handle several issues like customer identity, managing credit risk, fraud detection and prevention, customer relationship maintaining etc. Data analytics helps in this way by ensuring organizations in achieving their growth objectives. It also enables them to manage and automate large volumes of day-to-day decisions. Data analytics draws inferences from large amount of data and use these inferences within banking processes transparently. Data analytics (DA) has an effective use in the following stages of customer lifecycle- Customer targeting -DA helps to develop right offer to right customer by understanding their behavior. Customer Acquisition- DA benefits banks by acquiring profitable customers at low cost and also helps to understand the affordability status of customers. Customer Management- DA helps banks to ensure responsible lending and to undertake effective risk management measures which in turn provide better customer services. Collection- Banks can use DA to reduce delinquency, manage cost of collections, and reduce wasted time by knowing the right value of the customers according to their worth retaining for the future. Read more at:http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/287791/indian-banks-improve-customer-lifecycle-analytics?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-indian-banks-can-improve-the-customer-lifecycle-by-using-data-analytics

Big-data analytics impacts any organization economically, but often data scientists hope for benefits.The reality of where and how data analytics can improve performance varies across industries. Customer-facing activities- the greatest opportunities lie in telecommunications. Here, companies benefit by focusing on analytics models which optimize pricing of services, maximize marketing spending by predicting on where product promotions will be most effective, and identify ways for withholding customers. Internal applications- In industries, like transportation services, models focus on process efficiencies-optimizing routes. Hybrid applications- Some industries need both. Retailers use data to influence next-product-to-buy decisions and to choose the best location for new stores or to catch flows of products through supply chains. Companies operate along two horizons: capturing quick wins to build momentum while keeping sight of longer-term. Open data- swelling reservoirs of external data. Models are often improved combining these data with the existing ones for better business outcomes.. Read more at: 

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/views_from_the_front_lines_of_the_data_analytics_revolution

In today's era of competitive world, it is less expensive to provide "great" service over "good service". The customer service company relies upon listening, analyzing and acting on it. Many organizations underestimate the impact and damage of various customer issues. This usually occurs because they are using data only from a single customer channel or taking into account their vocal customers only, limiting data to a single customer channel. If your organization works in silos, you may not have the complete picture especially if customers complain across multiple channels. This means if a company only counts the cases that complain on a specific channel, your view is limited to a small subset. Even if your organization counts all the complaints across all channels on a specific issue, it is likely that you'll still see a small percentage of the cases where customers are encountering these issues, because   majority of customers affected don't complain to the organization directly. In order to estimate more accurately and prioritize the impact of each customer concern organizations follows the following process. To know more:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/271903/steps-measure-impact-silent-customers/

Nowadays, social media customer care represents a tremendous growing opportunity for businesses to foster strong customer relationships. According to Bianca Buckridee (presently the vice president of social media operations) JP Morgan's twitter page enables customers to see the individual with whom they are talking which in turn restores some of the intimacy and comfort that is lost in a phone conversation.   Katy Phillips, a senior analyst for American Airlines, identifies social space as an important factor which has helped them build customer loyalty and brand reputation and will continue to create some "wow'' moments for customers. In spite of such boons of social media customer care, not many businesses have exploited it. Evolve24-a Maritz Research company, found in 2011 that approximately 70% of customer service complaints made on Twitter were unanswered. The panelists at the recent Wharton Social Media Best Practices Conference believe that the percentage has not changed significantly. Read more at: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ignored-side-social-media-customer-service/