opinion
Online data capture is virtually the only area that major data owners are currently investing in. By partnering with brand owners, they hope to be able to deliver fresh data with the right recency to direct marketers. Trouble is, online data volumes are much smaller than has historically been achieved via mailed surveys, guarantee cards and the like. Can digital data come good and give data users what they need, or will it remain a niche pursuit?
Historically online data has been hard to come by, and marketers have struggled to capture even simple information such as a customer's email address. But the prevalence of online data has grown considerably, and it's becoming a much more fruitful resource. However, the issue isn't whether online data can be captured in significant volumes, but is the way in which marketers treat online data in the same way they do offline data.
Online data and offline data have fundamental differences - most significantly the role they play in driving an instant interaction with customers. Offline data is important, not least because it delivers details about a customer such as demographic and transactional information. But online data holds the potential to deliver insight on the customer in real-time, as they interact with a brand. Smart brand owners should invest in capturing this level of data, not simply gearing up to try and record email addresses on mass.
The online marketplace offers marketers such huge potential through 'synaptic marketing'; where offline and online data can be brought together in real-time, to drive the most appropriate interaction with the customer. To achieve this new level of timing and relevance in their marketing, brands must shift their focus to the quality and depth of information they can potentially gather on each individual customer, instead of maintaining the old fashioned 'volume' mentality of traditional direct marketing.
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