In the first blog of this series, we will explore how best to understand your customers schedule to make the next best action. This will include how businesses use generic timing and the effect this has on customers as well as how to understand where target audience’s attention lies.
If you have been involved with shares and investment products, there is an old saying
“Do not try to time the market”
Why? Because even economists cannot predict recessions and corrections.
However, in the pursuit of improving customer experience through next best action marketing, I would say,
“Do time your next best proposition”
Knowing where your target audience’s attention lies at specific times for a specific proposition can be the difference between double digit response rates, and a response rates - with a minus exponential.
Here is one more proverb to set the scene,
“There is a time for everything.”
We all have personalised schedules of regular activities to various degrees. Some are governed by family and work commitments others by health and well-being (more on this later) considerations.
Specifically understanding your customers schedule is usually overlooked in making the next best action. Here this is referred to as “Next-Best-Time” marketing. Time should be considered as a separate variable in determining the next best action. In essence, we are asking,
“What is the Next-Best-Time to make the Next-Best-Action?”
This series of blogs explains why timing needs to be taken seriously and incorporated into your decision framework.
How to Understand your Customer Schedule: Generic Timing for Next Best Time Marketing”
Individual-Based Timing
To set the scene for Next Best Time Marketing, consider the statistics below. These provide a very generic overview of time-based purchasing behaviour.
| Observation | Average length of time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average length of time before someone changes their car | 2 – 3 years | |
| Average length of time before someone changes their TV | 7 – 8 years | Source |
| Average length of time before someone changes their laptop | 3 – 5 years | Source |
There is a “wear-and-tear” element to these date ranges. There is also a strong “keeping up with the jones” factor, or not wanting to appear “behind the curve”.
The important aspect of these statistics is that they provide a base line time-based insight when considering presenting certain types of propositions. For example, upselling a new car model within the first few years would be easier sell than upselling a new TV.
From a customer centric Next Best Action Perspective, we are interested in individual time-based insights. For example, Professional Gamers and Crypto miners would expect to change their laptops on a more regular basis.
In our next blog, we will introduce another time-based purchasing behaviour, market timing, and dive into how we can achieve a positive customer experience, supported by examples.
For all blogs in this series, please see below:
1. How best to understand your customers schedule to make the Next Best Action
2. How market timing can affect a customer’s decision-making framework
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