DMA08 Conference

The first session of the DMA08 Conference that I viewed was about using variable video to create an engaging dialogue with your customer. Randy Spurrier, CEO, of Nimblefish Technologies spoke about gathering customer data and running it through automated marketing engines. These marketing engines, that his company builds, use customer preferences and CRM data to create customized, relevant, video responses in effort to raise customer response rates. Analysis of the results showed that relevant video messaging can significantly increases customer response rates.

The second session of the DMA08 conference that I viewed was about using social computing to drive ecommerce sales and loyalty. Again the main point that the speaker was tyring to get across was making sure that whatever marketing strategy your company is using the more relevant it is to your customer the better off you will be. The speaker emphasized the importance of using customer ratings and reviews on ecommerce sites as a means to increase relevancy which in turn would help increase sales and loyalty. Without giving it much thought when ever I buy products online I base a lot of my decision on customer reviews, and never really saw the power of customer reviews as a direct marketing tool until I listened to this session.

The last session of the DMA08 that I looked at was about the keys to predictive modeling. The speakers talked about the kinds of software that is out there to help companies build predictive models, and the different kids of models that can be built. Matt Kramer, Consulting leader for Acxiom corporation stated the one most important components of a good model is good data because otherwise the model is not going to be accurate. He also stated that the most common modeling techniques used by direct marketers are logistic and linear regression. Overall, I found listing to these sessions from the DMA08 conference quite interesting, and as a recommendation for next semester I would suggest having students include some of the sessions from the DMA conferences in their blogs. I think that it adds another dynamic to the class that is very insightful and relevant.

Last night our class took a look a data mining program called Clementine. This program seems it would be better suited for larger data sets more so than SPSS. Clementine can produce a number of different graphs, charts, and outputs that can be used to better determine customer behavior. Some of the models that we looked at in class were neural networks which try to find relationships between data, and decision trees. Decision trees examine all possible outcomes from looking at all choices a customer could make. I thought the decision tree was pretty neat because you can visually see all of the decisions a customer can make and then try to walk through their thought process to get a better feel for the kinds of customers that are buying particular products. At the end of the class we were comparing all the different kinds of models against each other to see which one had the best predictive capability by using lifts and gains charts, which are commonly used performance measures. we found that the neural network had the best predictive capabilities for this data set. As an OMIS major I think programs like this should be thought in the OMIS curriculum, because until I took this class I had never even heard about SPSS or Clementine. I think that having some knowledge about this kind of software would be very helpful/useful for every OMIS major.

Today in class we looked at the website of PersonicX which is a company that has different customer segmentation tools available for other companies to purchase. The website consisted of a descriptions of different types of customer segments. There are a lot of different segments and they are divided by demographics as well as other factors. Companies could buy this information and use it to target a specific customer segments or to better understand the segment they want to target. We also discussed customer databases and how they are a list of customer names to which additional information has been added in a systematic fashion. Database enhancement is they act of taking information from a company like PersonicX and adding or overlaying that information to customer records to better describe and understand the customer. Then once the customer database has been optimized it they can be mined (the process of using statistical and mathematical techniques) to get the best kind of customer or segment information possible.

Last week our class had guest speaker Steve Topper, Marketing Director with 17 years experience in marketing technology, came to our class and spoke to us about what is a Marketing Database, and what the process is for creating a marketing database. This was my favorite speaker so far this semester. As an OMIS major I have built databases from scratch like Steve was describing, from conceptual design to fully operating database. I kind of hoped he would have gone a little more in depth about how important the conceptual designs and entity relationship diagrams(ERD) are and how much planning is actually required before the database can be built. Seeing as how this is a marketing class he just kind of touched on the topic very briefly. I also liked how much Steve emphasised the importance of "clean data" is in a database because any database is only as good as the data that is put into it.

This past week Dr. Zahay had canceled class so that the class could attend the Okner Symposium at Loyola University. I was unable to attend as a result of unforeseen circumstances, but though that I would do a little research about the Symposium to get a better grasp of what it was all about. Sy Okner, retired CEO of MarketUSA, a leading telemarketing company, provided CADMEF with a special grant to fund this annual program for college students and faculty. The information provided at this event consisted of information on current trends in the direct marketing industry including specifics on interactive marketing, telemarketing, integrated marketing, research and finding a job in the industry today. Aside from the all of the discussion and guest speakers at the Okner Symposium, I think that one of the most important aspects of the event would have been being able to network with the professionals in the field along with your pears. I think it would be nice if there were more events like this throughout the year, because just the networking opportunities alone would be worth it.

Today in class we began discussion on how organizations build databases and what kinds of information might be stored in them. Being a Operations and Information Management major, whenever discussions of how and why companies create databases I pay extra attention to the kinds of things people say. Having studied database management, I think it's interesting to hear the perspectives people in other majors or functional areas have to say about the topic. It's funny how simplified the process has become, I think people lose apparition for how complex some of these programs can be. Having studied databases from the conceptual design to writing the SQL to query the data, I have tremendous respect on how powerful a tool like this can be for an organization. As it applies to marketing, I think that databases can be very powerful tools even a source of competitive advantage. Companies that have the resources and the capabilities to fill these databases with good, clean information and be able to mine that data for useful information, have a tremendous advantage when it comes to knowing their customers.

Today the class took the statistics exam that we have been preparing for. Up to this point Dr. Zahay has been preparing us for this exam by giving the class SPSS assignments and have in class reviews. I remember hearing about the statistics exam at the beginning of the semester and feeling a little nervous, but by the time the test rolled around I felt pretty confident that I would do well. Coming in to this class I did not expect it to be so reliant on statistical analysis, but it turns out that I am quite pleased that it did. As an OMIS major using SPSS came very easy to me, and is quite similar to some other programs that I use. I am happy that I have been able to learn SPSS because it gives me another tool/skill that I can use to help find a job.

Reflecting on the first few weeks of the semester, when the class first started I was unsure what database marketing was all about. For the most part, I was really unaware to the extent that companies and organizations go through in order to understand their customers. With the help of databases and statistical software packages like SPSS, vast amounts of customer data can be mined and the output can be used to aid firms in reaching their goals. As far as SPSS is concerned, I think that once a person understands how the program works and how to interpret the outputs SPSS can be a very powerful tool. Companies that the do not use SPSS or programs like it are at a big disadvantage when it comes to understanding their customer's needs, wants, and expectations especially if their competitors are using this kind of software. With today's economy, organizations can't afford not to take advantage of this kind technology.

This past week our class had guest speaker Joe Dosmo, who is the VP/Senior Principal of Analytic Solutions for The Allant Group, come in and share his experiences in the field of database marketing. Joe explained the kind of company Allant is and how database marketing is becoming and essential component of any major marketing campaign, and in order for organization to stay competitive they must be will to use these kinds of resources. The part of the presentation that I thought was the most important was Joe's personal experience, and his recommendations for the graduating students in their job search. I thought that Joe's personal story of how he got to where he was today interesting and inspiring. I also like his advise on interviewing and how we all should have a portfolio of our work to give to interviewers and recruiters so they can get a better sense of the kind of work you are capable of.

After reading the first chapter and attending class the first few weeks I see that direct marketing really just replaces face-to-face selling process. I also thought that the books definition of database marketing was pretty good, "an extension of what direct marketers have been doing all along. The biggest difference is size or the amount of data that can be processed because of advancements in technology." I thought this was interesting because marketers have been wanting and trying to do the same thing, but have not had the technology to do so. Having read the first few assigned readings I'm really staring to see how important being able to gather such valuable information form customers. In class we discussed how interactive marketing refers to the evolving trend in marketing whereby marketing has moved from a transaction-based effort to a conversation, a kind of relationship. I also thought that the topic of Customer relationship management (CRM) was interesting because it is a comprehensive way to manage the relationships you have with your customers, including potential customers, for long-lasting mutual benefit.

As the first week of the semester has come to an end, I'm still a little unsure what it class is going to be about. As an OMIS major I am expecting the class to be more technology oriented than other marketing classes. This week we had a guest speaker come to the class, Lynn Hazan. I was taken a little off guard when Dr. Zahay told the class that we were going to have a guest speaker that was going to help us with our job search. I have had only had 2 other classes where the professor had brought someone from the outside to give us career advise. Lynn is a recruiter and she spoke to the class about the current job market and give us tips on how to interview. She was very informative and gave the class a lot of insight on the kinds of things recruiters are looking for in possible job candidates. I think Lynn was very helpful and opened my eyes to a few things that I never really took into consideration when interviewing, like not forgetting to smile. Overall, I thought see was a good speaker and I wish I had more guest speakers like that in some of my other classes.