Sitecore® Previews Symposium Discussion on Social, Mobile and Big Data

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitecore®, the global leader in customer experience management, will host its fourth Sitecore Symposium 2014 September 8-10 in Las Vegas, and September 15-17 in Barcelona, Spain. Marketers and developers will hear from industry leaders and expert practitioners about how to deliver unique, personalized and measurable experiences across every touchpoint to engage, win and retain customers.

Marketers need to stay on top of the innovations that will give them a competitive edge in a constantly evolving landscape. In advance of Symposium, industry thought leaders Darren Guarnaccia, Chief Strategy Officer at Sitecore, and Diane Berry, Chief Knowledge Officer at Coveo, spoke about their perspective on the social, mobile and big data trends that will be most salient for digital marketers in 2015 and beyond. The conversation will continue at Symposium. To learn more about the Symposium events, visit:  http://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Events/Symposium.aspx.

Q: What are the biggest trends in social, mobile and big data that will impact marketers in 2015?

Guarnaccia: Consumers have reached the saturation point with marketing -- think about it: when was the last time you really paid attention to the ads in your Facebook News Feed? Social and mobile are enriching our understanding of the customer, but they aren't replacing more traditional methods of engagement. Digital marketing increasingly becomes a balance between different channels and devices, and it's important for marketers to create a cohesive and harmonious customer experience.

Forward-thinking marketers are using data, gathered from every touch point, to truly understand the customer, including their current needs and intent. The combination of big data and predictive technologies allows marketers to better target customers and engage with them in the moment.

Berry: The customer is in charge, and has been for a while. In the near future, marketers will have to use big data to fuel personalized customer experiences. Social and mobile will be more than channels for marketing -- they will provide signals that allow us to infer customer interest, location, intent, buying stage and more. When you combine that real-time data with information from CRM, marketing automation and customer communities, you can deliver information, offers and products to the right person at the right time, on the device they choose.

Q: What is the primary untapped opportunity for marketers?

Guarnaccia: The biggest opportunity is intelligent advertising. That means using everything you know about a customer, plus their current context and intent, to offer the next valuable engagement. By using big data to inform your strategy, you can deliver content that the customer cares about, rather than hitting them over the head with mass marketing content or the same repeated offers, and progress the customer's relationship with your brand.

Berry: Marketers have been talking about personalizing the experience for years, but they've been doing it statically -- segmenting and using rules. The greatest opportunity is to provide dynamic, real-time, one-on-one experiences, on any device. The digital clues are available. The untapped opportunity is for marketers to use those clues to understand the consumer's journey and adjust their efforts in response to the customer's preferences and needs.

Q: What are the innovations that will help marketing leaders gain a competitive advantage?

Guarnaccia: Marketers need a centralized source of customer knowledge, across every digital interaction that can be used in the moment -- unlike the information stored in back-office systems. Machine learning technologies can help marketers predict what customer engagement ought to be -- and the automation of the technology allows marketers to personalize every customer interaction and do so at scale, without having to employ an army of developers.

Berry: We're seeing innovations that enable predictive intelligence, available pretty much out-of-the-box today. These technologies seamlessly weave together rich, near-real-time customer data to fuel personalized experiences. Marketers can connect this data to understand the customer based on how they've interacted with the brand in the past, and tailor the experience accordingly. The customer sees the content, offers and products that are most likely to intrigue and convert them, presented in the context and device of their choice.

Sitecore Symposium will feature dozens of sessions, including further insight into the social, mobile and big data trends that are top of mind for marketers, and the skills that matter most for winning customers for life. To register, visit:

• Las Vegas - http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Registration.aspx
• Barcelona - http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumEU2014/Registration-Form.aspx

About Sitecore
Sitecore is the global leader in customer experience management. The company delivers highly relevant content and personalized digital experiences that delight audiences, build loyalty and drive revenue. With the Sitecore® Experience Platform™, marketers can own the experience of every customer that engages with their brand, across every channel. More than 4,000 of the world's leading brands – including American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, Heineken and L'Oréal trust Sitecore to help them deliver the meaningful interactions that win customers for life.
For more information, visit: http://www.sitecore.net  

Contact:
Emily Iwan
Sitecore
+1 (415) 326-7471
[email protected]

SOURCE Sitecore