As the first quarter of 2014 comes to an end and we move into the spring fever months of marketing, there has been a rise in the popular trend of using offline data to finely tune an online campaign. Offline data can be defined as any information that is gleaned about an individual while they are not performing online activities. For example, demographic information (age, gender, marital status, income, address, etc.), shopping preferences, and travel destinations are just a few of the data points that are readily available to Big Data companies. This information is then used to directly target individuals while they are online. Targeting can occur through social media networks, email campaigns, and the pop-up ads that appear on various websites.

As you might imagine, this trend has given rise to questions of consumer privacy. However, for this post I want to steer away from that controversial portion and instead speak to the underlying message of the current (and future) marketing trend. Because let’s face it, offline data points are here to stay.

At the base of this trend lie a few quintessential infrastructure points to marketing success.

1. Know your customer. Understanding your customer on an individual level will promote brand loyalty.
2. Manage customer expectations. By knowing your customer offline, you can better manage their online expectations of your brand, product, or service.
3. Keep your customer happy. People change. That is a pure and simple truth. As such, if you want to continue to market to the same person, then you must be able to spot life patterns that indicate a change in wants, desires, or needs. These patterns are often spotted in both offline and online data.
4. Attract new customers. Company growth can only occur if one of two things happens: a) your current customers spend more money on your services or b) you attract new customers while retaining your current customer base. In today’s marketing world, the success of this final infrastructure point lies in offline data.

And so, as this month’s marketing segment comes to a close, I want to remind all companies out there that as we move towards the marriage of offline and online marketing campaigns, we must remember that our success is dependent on individuals. Rather than scare them off with Big Data analytics, remember that to succeed you must: Know your Customer, Manage Customer Expectations, Keep your Customer Happy, and Attract New Customers.

Written by: Laura Parker
Laura Parker is a full-time freelance writer and marketing guru. For more marketing tips or consultation advice please contact her at laura@laurapparker.com.
www.laurapparker.com