Better IT promises 'intelligence-guided' online shopping

Does it still amaze you how well the ads on your Yahoo, Facebook and other web pages reflect which products and services you’ve recently searched for online?

Small, mid-market and large businesses looking for even smarter ways to connect with their customers are eager to say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The “intelligence-guided customer experience” is aimed at integrating information about your customers’ preferences across all the digital channels they use, and analyzing that data to help you know exactly what shoppers are looking for — and closing sales — better than ever before.

“Customers today are connecting with brands on multiple fronts, including mobile devices, social media sites and in the store,” said Yuchun Lee, vice president of IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. “Regardless of the channel, these individuals expect each experience to be flawless and relevant.”

As more and more people use mobile devices allowing them 24/7 access to social networking sites, online shopping and the web, grabbing — and understanding — real-time data about their habits is critical to businesses looking to connect with their customers. During this year’s back-to-school shopping season, for example, more than 15 percent of online sales were made via mobile devices.

Keeping IT systems smart and nimble enough to accommodate such changing shopping patterns is a top priority for many businesses. The latest “State of Marketing” survey by IBM, for instance, found that 48 percent of marketers are looking to improved technology infrastructure to better meet their customers’ needs.

IBM recently unveiled a cloud-based Marketing Center to address such concerns. The center helps businesses analyze online shopping patterns and create personalized, “intelligent” offers for each individual shopper.

One problem with mobile shopping, for example, is that people might start an online purchase but don’t follow through to completion. IBM’s Marketing Center helps identify these almost-customers and lets businesses re-engage them by quickly sending them a 10-percent-off coupon and serving them a customized web page that reflects their unique interests.

“Given today’s empowered customers that are digitally connected 24/7, we see it as a top priority to provide our customers with the best possible experience in every interaction,” said Laura Symspon-Cornelius, director of web analytics for Office Depot.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.