Neil Mason

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 03/01/11 and is republished here with permission.

A year ago I reflected on the end of my first digital decade. I commented on how things had moved on in that time with respect to analytics and how in some areas there was a way still to go. Another year on and we’re still on the journey, so what are some of the things that I would like to see more of or less of in 2011? (more…)

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 07/12/10 and is republished here with permission.

“Insight”. It’s a word that most of us probably use every day. Client companies demand “insight”, agencies and consultancies strive to deliver it. But what is it and how do you know when you’ve got it? Or have created it? Is it one of those words these days that we use glibly like “analytics” when we really mean “reporting” because it sounds better or more sophisticated? (more…)

These days we live in an experience economy. Many organisations look to compete through some kind of service or product differentiated strategy rather than purely on price. But it’s a complex landscape – organisations have to work across multiple channels and deliver a joined up experience – across the web, the call centre, stores and other touch points. Consumers are no longer tolerant of organisations that don’t.

So how are businesses coping with the need to deliver a multi-channel, integrated customer experience? Well the evidence from a recent report conducted by Foviance in association with Econsultancy here in the UK, suggests that whilst organisations recognise that is something they need to do, they are a long way from delivering on that need.

The report is based on a survey of over 500 businesses. It conforms that the majority of organisations do recognise the link between business performance and customer experience but are struggling to develop a strategy for multi-channel customer experience management and then delivering on that strategy…

A more in-depth version of this article has  been republished with permission by ClickZ on the Foviance website if you’d like to read more. Also, please download your own copy of the Multi-channel Customer Experience Report today.

This article was written as part of the Foviance December 2010 newsletter

“Tell me something I don’t know” was once a brief I got from a client. It was also the title of the presentation I gave at the eMetrics Marketing Optimisation Conference  in Washington DC  in early October. The presentation covered an overview of data mining and predictive analytics and included a couple of case studies showing how these techniques can be used in the digital analytics space. Fortunately Daniel Waisberg and his team from Online Behaviour filmed a number of presentations from the conference including mine. The presentation can be viewed in three parts. (more…)

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 23/11/10 and is republished here with permission.

In my last column  I talked about some of the challenges faced by organisations in developing a stronger multi-channel customer experience strategy based on a recent report published by Foviance in association with Econsultancy. I ended the article with the comment that “Data and insight are two of the greatest enablers to developing an improved customer experience. Organisations that invest in managing data across channels will be well-placed for success.” As statements go, this one definitely falls into the “easier said than done” category. There are many challenges in creating an integrated approach to data and insight in organisations that are organisational, cultural, and technical. (more…)

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 09/11/10 and is republished here with permission.

These days we live in an experience economy. Many organisations look to compete through some kind of service or product differentiated strategy rather than purely compete on price. But these days it’s a complex landscape, organisations have to work across multiple channels and deliver a joined up experience, across the web, the call centre, stores and other touch points. Consumers are no longer tolerant of organisations that don’t recognise them across these various touch points and are better equipped than ever before to drop something about it when things aren’t right. (more…)

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 11/10/10 and is republished here with permission.

Over here in Europe we’re having one of those periods where the spotlight is falling on issues around privacy and the use of cookies. It’s one of those topics that keeps bubbling under the surface and every now and then erupts. (more…)

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 11/10/10 and is republished here with permission.

Fragmentation, optimisation and integration. Those were the themes that stood out for me at last week’s Emetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in Washington DC. First of all I was reminded that “web analytics” is not was it used to be, it’s an increasingly complex space. Secondly, I was shown some great evidence about what’s really required to be an optimisation orientated organisation and finally we’re beginning to see some case studies from organisations that have made the investment in multi-channel data and the benefits they’re accruing from that. (more…)