For the fastest marketers, real time means responding to customer actions in a near instantaneous fashion. But nearly everyone agrees there’s room to speed up.

1. Regardless
of device
99% In any digital
marketing channel
98%
34%
54%
For the fastest marketing teams, real time means responding to a customer action in a near instantaneous
fashion. For others, responses are slower. But nearly everyone agrees that there’s a lot of room to
speed up.
HOW FAST DO YOU NEED TO BE?
Within a second Within a few seconds Within two minutes
Real-time marketing, noun: The practice of targeting customers in a near instantaneous manner,
and using specific data points to personalise messages and product offerings across all channels
and devices.
Sound like a lot? It’s not. With the right tools, real-time marketing is easy... and the opportunity is
huge—especially for those who get there first.
A recent study shows only 8% of marketing professionals are using real-time data to impact their
marketing. But those who are using that data to create valuable, relevant and in-the-moment
customer experiences are seeing a 26% lift in conversion rates.
Taken together, these figures create a clear message: the race to real time is on.
|
12% 19%
Better customer
experience
Improved conversion
rates
Improved customer
relations
49% 20%
Within a day
12%
How do you define real-time marketing?
Even when marketers are clearing those hurdles, they’re lacking the training needed to finish
strong. Most report that they’re struggling to create strategies and tactics that take advantage
of real-time capabilities.
Ineffective
Effective
Highly Effective
Conceiving
business strategy
and tactics to
take advantage
of real-time
capabilities
6%
71%
23%
Designing
customer
experiences that
take advantage
of real-time
responses
5%
74%
21%
How would you describe your organisation’s current effectiveness in
the following areas?
Is your marketing technology good enough to execute real-time marketing?
Do you combine disparate customer data into one centralised warehouse?
1. Focus on a goal. You’ll accomplish more in your race to real-time marketing
if you set yourself clear goals.
Find quick wins that contribute to the success of your business: Are you
looking to improve customer experience based on device? Across channel?
Based on prior behavior? Based on in-the-moment behavior?
If you can prioritise your answers to these questions, you’ll be able to focus
on each individually and accelerate your real-time marketing initiatives.
2. Use high-impact data. Use the data that aligns with your goals to better
understand what makes your customers tick. This will help you evaluate
your current customer experience, consider changes, and improve
conversion rates.
The five most effective data sources for real-time marketing are customer
segments, transactional information, device/browser, current location, and
content viewed.
3. Invest in the right technology. Find the technology that helps you eliminate
your barriers and accelerate your business.
Only 29% of in-house marketers believe they have a strong data capability,
and that number drops to 21% for marketing technology. If you’re in this boat,
prioritise finding a marketing solution that will pull together disparate data
sources and allow you to take marketing actions in real time.
Are your real-time marketing efforts sufficient to get the best business
results for the foreseeable future?
Organisational barriers
Talent
Preparedness
Those willing to sprint out of the blocks are facing a series of hurdles. But they’re not as large as
some might think. They can be cleared with the right technology and the right partnership.
WHAT’S SLOWING YOU DOWN?
It’s not just about capturing marketing gold. Real-time marketing helps the customer win and keeps
you in the race for their attention longer than before.
WHAT’S THE PRIZE?
Cost
Lack of knowledge/skills
Poor marketing technology
Company culture
Lack of a unified customer database
No 67% Yes 33%No 67% Yes 33%
No 81% Yes 19%No 81% Yes 19%
Consumers increasingly expect us to provide relevant information:
Crowd-Pleasing Performances
84% 47%72%
Three training tips
to speed up your race to real-time marketing.
Source: Econsultancy/Monetate
Real-Time Marketing Report
THE RACE TO
REAL-TIME
MARKETING