Interview with BGT’s Andrea Fishman on Advanced Analytics, Behavioral Marketing and SES Chicago

I recently spoke with Andrea Fishman, Partner and VP of Global Strategy at digital agency BGT Partners, to discuss the upcoming SES Chicago conference, October 18-22, 2010, where she will be a speaker. Andrea is a nationally recognized expert in interactive marketing strategy, and she will be serving as a panelist to discuss advanced analytics and behavioral marketing at the conference on October 19. I asked Andrea several questions about the upcoming conference and her topic, and her responses are below.

What is SES Chicago?

SES, or Search Engine Strategies, is the leading global event series that educates delegates in search and social marketing, and their Chicago event, October 18-22 at the Chicago Hilton, is one of the largest worldwide. The conference offers over 70 sessions and provides marketers with the opportunity to network and learn about the latest interactive trends.

Who should attend SES Chicago and why?

This conference is an excellent resource for anyone investing in interactive marketing initiatives and looking to boost their ROI. My track will be especially useful to those interactive marketing professionals who are looking to learn more about how behavioral marketing and advanced analytics enable organizations to deliver a truly customized, dynamic consumer experience – generated in real time for each unique visitor to your site.

What will you be discussing?

My session, entitled “Advanced Analytics and Behavioral Marketing,” will explore how ADT, which is the world’s largest provider of electronic security services, is leveraging advanced analytics and behavioral marketing to enhance lead generation and deliver a more personalized experience. Using ADT as a case study, the session will address challenges and opportunities global marketers face when extending a comprehensive analytics program, including: integrating online and offline data, key elements for executive dashboards, using A/B testing to enhance performance and establishing behavioral profiles for online segmentation and personalization.

What are advanced analytics?

The foundation of most interactive initiatives is strong data. However, data is useless without marketers who can use it to their advantage by identifying trends and insights. Many marketers collect massive amounts of data – but struggle to find the key data points to make decisions. Advanced analytics go beyond the fundamentals of Web analytics and provide interactive marketers with the means to drive tactical and strategic decision-making.

What is behavioral marketing?

All your customers are different. They're looking for different things, are at different parts of the sales cycle and different motivations will get them to convert. Behavioral marketing is shifting from general mass-market messaging to diversified, personalized messaging in order to reach potential customers on a personal level and create more relevant interactions. The more you know about a visitor, the history and the trends associated with their “behavior types,” the more you can deliver a highly customized, relevant user experience.

Why are advanced analytics and behavioral marketing important to interactive marketers?

In an era where accountability for marketing spend continues to grow, the ability to deliver a truly customized and dynamic consumer experience is significant as it helps interactive marketers narrow their focus to high-value conversion points and maximize return. Each positive step in optimization increases the chances of impacting the marketplace of potential and strengthening lifetime value. Through advanced analytics and behavioral marketing you are able connect with your customers like never before, which could be the difference between a new client and a drop in conversion.

What is the future of advanced analytics and behavioral marketing? 

If leveraged correctly, the increase of user-generated content could play a central role in advanced analytics and behavioral marketing initiatives. Social media users have a growing propensity to divulge all of their likes and dislikes, and they share their feelings and perspectives (good and bad) with anyone who will listen. The challenge is to find the appropriate opportunity for advanced analytics and behavioral marketing without being too invasive.

For more information on Andrea Fishman, please click here, and for more information on BGT Partners, please visit: www.bgtpartners.com, www.facebook.com/bgtpartners and www.twitter.com/bgtpartners. Follow Andrea on Twitter: @andreafishman.