Strategic Interactive Marketing

Benefits of Strategic Interactive Marketing

More affluent customers: Those customers that acquire the various interactive technologies are more affluent and value their time more highly. They will pay for responsive service and for having their particular needs met.
Accurately targeting promotions: Personalised and animated illustrations could be electronically delivered regularly or on special occasions (e.g. birthdays, anniversaries, car renewal).
Higher sales conversions through raising customer confidence, and inducing buy-in: Complex offering, whereby a number of different product benefits are inter-linked, could more easily be comprehended through graphics and animation. Using interactive software, including simulation techniques, the customer is able to involve themselves in the development and exploration of various options and see "real life" illustrations.
Product Awareness: Customer (or sales representative) can have access comprehensive product information to address a wide range of needs ("one-stop shopping").
When SIM supports 1:1 Marketing further benefits are realised (see link).

Distribution and sales costs are much lower (see the Booz-Allen & Hamilton example banking transaction costs). There are no sales persons to employ, no expensive premises, and customers even perform the data entry!
Servicing costs: Besides the obvious e-mail type links to customer services, customers could directly view or enquire on their product portfolio.
Promotional costs: Electronic delivery is substantially lower, especially when media rich formats are involved. When products or services change, there are no wasted brochures etc..
Product retention: Customer (or sales representative) can have access comprehensive product information. In the case of investment products it is imperative that correct advice is given in order to comply with the Financial Services Act.
When SIM is enabled by Mass Customisation it gains further cost benefits (see link).

Market responsiveness: In response to competitor actions or legislation, etc., changes can be quickly made to products and services and then distributed to customers and suppliers.
Cross-selling: By linking into other companies delivery medium, one company's products can be cross-sold to another, and the linking reciprocated.
Differentiation: A go-ahead insurer has the ability to present a lively and innovative image and to break away from the traditionally stuffy image of the insurance industry.

SIM promotion needs to highlight individual possibilities and the provision of unique benefits, yet at a competitive price similar to mass produced items.
Promotion needs to direct customers to different access points according to their capability and inclination to design their own product or service. See Design.

Products and services need to be design and made available at a component level together with business rules that define the possible combinations and limits.
Quite often there will be a base (or core) component to which further components are added.
Starter products and services of pre-built components will be available to help customers into the design process.
Product information needs to be available at the component level as well as for any base product.
Appropriate user interfaces allow customers to design their unique product or service. For some this could be a question and answer session which identifies their requirements and then builds the product. For others this could be the equivalent of a CAD systems where they can mix and match components that they then evaluate using simulation tools. Yet others will express their requirements through your sales staff or field agents.

Products and services need pricing at a component level and to take into account the distribution method (customer self service, agent or sales person, face to face, via the telephone or the Internet, etc.).

Production systems needs to assemble the components according to the unique customer design.
A detailed record of the product or service will need to be kept so that it can later be serviced or amend (see Servicing).

Profiles of individual customer products as well as profiles of the individual customers, need to be available to support staff and the customer throughout the life of the product or service.

Feedback at any point needs to be capture and used to improve the component offerings, the starter products or services, or the process.

Organisational culture, management style and staff competencies need to support a truely customer focus marketing approach where each customer is treated as a unique individual having particular needs that will be satisfied by the organisation.

Care must be taken to conform to statute regulations, regulatory authority guidelines, and industry codes of conduct. Examples are the Data Protection Act, the Personal Investment Authority (PIA) and its successor the Financial Services Authority (FSA). To avoid potential bad publicity, it also makes for good practice to be transparent in the products and services offered and to present them in plain English (see the Plain English Campaign's Crystal Mark and Honesty Crystal Mark, and the Money Management Council's Quality Mark).

Also see the implications of 1:1 Marketing and Mass Customisation.

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