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Figure 1 – Processing steps for an email campaign are implemented across multiple sub-systems each providing various services. Traditionally campaigns, even when similar, are implemented differently across these sub-systems. This leads to a proliferation of “campaign types”. The end result is poor responsiveness to market opportunities and higher cost of campaign operations.
Standardizing implementation of campaign processing and business rules
Why are campaign implementations so unpredictable?
Most teams face a challenge in swift and consistent implementation of campaigns because business rules and processing steps required to implement a campaign are spread across multiple sub-. Creation or modification of a campaign would require changes to these sub-systems. Implementing such changes requires a design that takes in to account processing abilities of the impacted sub-systems. The implementation effort needs to be coordinated across teams that are responsible for these sub-systems.
In most cases, campaign implementations do not follow a standard design. This leads non-uniform implementation of campaign processing steps across different sub-systems.
Measuring effectiveness of campaigns
Campaign teams adopt ad-hoc approach to monitor status and measure campaign effectiveness. Standardizing the process helps to eliminate manual collation of status information.
Consider the example shown in fig1 of two email campaigns that promote new data services for cell phone users. Multiple systems are involved in this campaign, e.g., campaign creation, base customer and campaign data store, email creation and blast, campaign reporting, post campaign data processing and integration modules. The first step for both campaigns is to get the initial segment of customer based on criteria such as region, request for information and usage of existing data service.
However, subsequent processing steps such as removal of duplicates, extract of best contact email, customer segmentation and logic to build the email content for different data plans are implemented differently by the two campaigns. When a similar campaign is required at a later date, the team will look to modify one of the existing campaigns. Since campaign-processing steps are implemented differently in the existing campaigns, the team has to do extensive impact analysis and regression tests. An easy way that is taken by many teams is to simply create a new campaign, thereby adding to the unnecessary proliferation of campaign types.
Consequences are delays in responding to business needs besides increased cost of campaign operations.
Data readiness crucial to execute campaign
Predictable data consolidation is required every time, else be prepared to lose business. However, campaign marketing organizations pay a heavy price by not paying attention to supporting data infrastructure.
Following standards is the key
Development of design and implementation standards that specify how different campaign processing steps are implemented across various sub-systems is an important first step in enforcing uniformity. The standards should include specifications that cover all aspects required to implement a campaign, e.g., campaign creation, campaign enrichment, business rules implementation, database activities, scheduling and integration for interacting with other systems.
These standards are governed by factors like types of campaigns, customer response, scheduling, business rules to be implemented, effectiveness measures and customer communication channel.
Visualize campaign data to gain benefit
Critical aspect is to provide data to campaign managers in a way that makes sense to them. However fast changing business needs are exposing inefficiencies in the way most teams implement this aspect.
With the use of such standards similar campaign implementations have campaign processing steps implemented uniformly across various sub-systems. Each sub-system will have defined role in campaign operations and place constraints that encourage adoption of standard design. These constraints should not stop any non-standard implementation but instead suggest and warn when there is a deviation. Such deviations should be monitored and reviewed by the standards team for corrective actions.
Implementation and maintenance of such standards requires close coordination between business users and technical team. A feedback mechanism is required so that changes in campaign implementation strategy are reflected back to the standards followed by communication of the updates across team members.
Improving marketing campaigns
EXILANT helped one of the largest consumer electronics product company to establish and enhance their campaign system. The solution enabled the client to manage and improve sales and services of their products.
Summary
Campaign organizations have evolved over the last few years in size and complexity with the growth of the Internet. They have not had the benefit of hindsight when designing their implementation. Their current predicament is therefore understandable. However, implementing such standards provides a good improvement opportunity. The campaign operations team will become more productive, thereby reducing delays in implementing campaigns and help to rapidly evolve business opportunities. With our expertise in this domain, we can assist our clients in their efforts to streamline and standardize their campaign operations.
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Measuring effectiveness of campaigns
Campaign teams adopt ad-hoc approach to monitor status and measure campaign effectiveness. Standardizing the process helps to eliminate manual collation of status information.
Data readiness crucial to execute campaign
Predictable data consolidation is required every time, else be prepared to lose business. However, campaign marketing organizations pay a heavy price by not paying attention to supporting data infrastructure.
Managing marketing campaigns
Marketers face challenges in operating their campaign smoothly despite having multiple systems. They need "ready to execute" infrastructure and analytical approach to take charge of the campaigns..
