Predictive Analytics

Predictive Analytics & Marketing Research

As companies build new data platforms that contain a wealth of data, and as they work at tying that data platform into others, the question arises, “How can I best tap the value of my investment in data?”

Much of targeted database marketing depends on the past behavior and demographics of the customers represented in the database; i.e., we know who the customers are and how they have responded in the past. Even if we have fairly complete transaction history and contact history for customers, it is becoming more and more apparent that history alone is insufficient.

Therefore, the volume, velocity, and variety of “Big Data” may fail to deliver accurate predictions of new product demand, ROI for deployment of innovative products, and responses to new brand positioning, promotions, and messaging strategies.

Relying solely on “Big Data” is like driving a car by looking only in the rearview mirror. This works fine as long as the road is straight, but curves in the road lead to disaster. Markets are constantly changing and marketing research allows us to look out of the front windshield and anticipate the curves ahead. It allows us to understand and predict, and be “ahead of the curve.”

Marketing Research Services for Predictive Analytics

Decision Analyst’s marketing research services for database marketing include the following:

Online Qualitative Research

We can target subgroups within the customer database and determine motivations, perceptions, and preferences. This in turn can lead to new positioning, new marketing messages, and new methods of attack.

Online Quantitative Research

Customer groups are identified and surveyed to establish segment membership and to measure purchase intent for new products, preferences for product features, promotions, messaging, and prices. These are the variables that are predicted. Next geography-based, sociodemographic/economic variables and online behavioral variables are linked to the survey respondent data. Then predictive models are developed and delivered to companies for assistance with business decision-making, marketing, and customer targeting.

Text Mining In Unstructured Or Semistructured Data Sets

Most text or open-ended comments in customer databases are never fully analyzed or understood. Decision Analyst uses powerful coding software systems to reveal the true messages customers are trying to send and reports them in an understandable way.

Testing Marketing Programs

Using its worldwide Internet panels and research systems, Decision Analyst can economically test the following marketing materials for effectiveness (before deployment):

Conceptor® Volumetric Forecasting

The sales and profit potential of new marketing programs can be experimentally derived, so that realistic estimates of first-year performance of new programs and offers can be accurately forecast.

Marketing Optimization

Let Predictive Analytic Services at Decision Analyst help you get the very most out of your telephone, direct mail, and email campaigns. Our experience with direct-response campaigns, combined with Decision Analyst’s marketing research resources, can help optimize TM scripts, direct mail offers, and email offers to net the highest possible response rates. We can also help test direct response ads and catalog designs (both online and offline), to maximize response, profit, or lifetime value, or to optimize a combination of all three.

Innovation Services For Predictive Analytics

“The only thing constant is change.” Product life expectancy is decreasing. That’s why new product and promotional ideas are more critical now than ever before. Decision Analyst Innovation Services can generate the new ideas that will lead to business success, as follows:

Why Decision Analyst?

We are a global marketing research and analytical consulting firm. Our charge, our commitment, is helping our clients achieve continuous competitive advantage through advanced research analytics and modeling technologies.

Our research, predictive analytics, and consulting services have for more than a third of a century helped our clients develop winning marketing strategies, build stronger brands, enhance customer loyalty, upgrade advertising, and accelerate new product development. Decision Analyst serves the direct marketing, CRM, and database marketing industries with a full complement of services.

Predictive Analytic Services

If you have Advanced Analytics questions you would like to discuss, please contact Elizabeth Horn, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Advanced Analytics (ehorn@decisionanalyst.com) or Jerry W. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer (jthomas@decisionanalyst.com) via email or call 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166.