As a marketer, it is crucial to understand both right-time and real-time Marketing. Furthermore, they are both relevant and applicable to most marketing scenarios. Some companies that insist that real time marketing should be prioritized over right-time marketing. Others defend the opposite.

Right time marketing is a sophisticated way to boost customer acquisition and retention by understanding customer’s characteristics and channel preferences. It’s built on rich customer data and analytics. Real time marketing is about introducing your target market to important moments and events. Audiences need information fast, and companies need the attention of their target market- they’re co-dependent.

In the end, it’s your choice to decide which option will be more efficient based on the timing and connection with your consumers. Decide which channel, the right target market and design the right message. Need some more detail? In this article we will continue to outline the most important aspects of both options to help you get a better idea of which tactic best suits your current needs.

Real Time Marketing

Pros:

1. It’s the balance between business objectives and customer needs:

First of all, it’s possible to drive real time marketing while satisfying company objectives. For instance, take customer loyalty programs. Through these programs companies are able to compare which products customers choose over others. This makes for the perfect opportunity to expand their knowledge of the target audience.

2. It’s a great opportunity for increasing engagement:

One of the best parts of conducting real time marketing is that if it is successful, it will in turn create a lot of engagement. It’s all about crafting a marketing related document, picture, video, or event based on a recent incident. It has the potential to reach a lot of people; however, it’s hard to estimate an exact number. When this sort of campaign is successful it has an immediate effect!

The picture above is a good example of real time marketing. During the 2013 Super Bowl there was a power outage and the team over at Oreo immediately jumped into action. They created this image that lead to a huge surplus in engagement. Since it went live it has become known as one of the best examples of real-time marketing of all time.

Cons:

1.    Responsiveness is confined to social:

It seems like social media is the most valuable piece of the real time marketing puzzle. While it’s an important aspect, there is more to modern marketing than social media. Brands that are neglecting a comprehensive, cross-channel strategy are missing out. Solely relying on social media means they are ultimately limiting their brand growth.

2.   Cross-device recognition is limited:

Another thing to think about is that if marketers can’t systematically collect and connect data about their customers throughout their shopping journey, recognizing those individuals across channels is going to be tricky. Real time marketing gets its significance from delivering the right message at the right time. However, brands will have a difficult time keeping up if they don’t know which channels to pay attention to.

Right Time Marketing

Pros:

1.    It’s easier to execute because of a determined pattern:

Just like the 4Ps concept in marketing, there is a specific formula for a successful right-time marketing campaign. These are called the 4Rs and are outlined below as the right:

• Person: Identify the right person by combining the internal customer and prospect data.
• Channel: Once the right audience has been identified, a multichannel approach must be use to approach them.
• Moment: Deliver the most relevant message at the right-time.
• Answer: Once all of the above is answered, companies can match customer expectations. In addition, they can strengthen customer loyalty, reduce churn and boost revenues.

2.   If it applied correctly, there are proven results.

VB Insight surveyed 3000 marketers and looked at the tools used on over 3 million websites. They found that when the right data informs marketing strategies, the average ROI is 224% and the overall improvement is 22% at the bottom of the funnel. Hence, by choosing this strategy you are guaranteed to see advancement.

Image courtesy of: http://bit.ly/2tl1Sdk

Cons:

1.    Timing is crucial, if you miss it, it may not make any impact despite you best efforts:

Consequently, for right time marketing to work properly, everything must be planned well, organized and ready-to-go. Therefore, if the execution gets delayed or doesn’t stay loyal to its schedule it can sabotage all your work. All of the preparations, investments, and efforts could therefore stand for nothing.

2.   Behavioral data and 3rd party enhancement could be misleading, wrong or ineffective:

When collecting data from 3rd parties there are different sources, activities and methodologies to help you interpret said behavioral data. Unfortunately, there could easily be a mistake or informational error. As a result this means the whole campaign would be rendered inaccurate.

In conclusion we recommend going with the option that best fits your business. For more tips on digital marketing strategies, visit the Pepper Hub and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Sources:

• The Right-time for Real-Time Marketing: http://bit.ly/2tl1Sdk
• Right-time Marketing: How to Target Today’s Consumers at the Right-time and Through the Right Channels: http://bit.ly/2t0QOzx
• Real-Time Marketing: Why Is It So Elusive: http://bit.ly/2s1Cfun
• Is Real-time Marketing always the Right-time?: http://bit.ly/2tl1Sdk
• 8 Benefits of Real-time Marketing: http://bit.ly/2smbq36

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