RELATIONAL DATABASE + YOUWHY IT MATTERS

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BEFORE WE GET STARTED…

• Having technical difficulties?- Use the Q&A dialog box to let us know.- If we can’t help you call Citrix at 888-259-8414 for technical

support.- Or you can chat with a Citrix representative at

www.citrixgcs.com/chat.

• To submit questions during the webinar, use the Q & A chat box.

• Everyone will receive a link to a recording of the presentation and a copy of the slide deck within 1 - 2 business days.

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TWEET!

Follow us on Twitter!

@WhatCounts

@timbrechlin

Tweet about this webinar using #WCRelational

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WHO I AM

Tim BrechlinInbound Marketing Manager

WhatCounts, Inc.@timbrechlin

• Ten years’ digital marketing experience

• Extensive background in travel / tourism, media / publishing and agency verticals

• Lover of life, living and deep-fried cheese

LET’S TALK DATABASES

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• Standard, traditional way of setting up email databases

• Somewhat limited in function and scope

• One record per user

• To have multiple actions per user, you then need an individual record per action– Resulting in many, many records, creating a large, even potentially

unmanageable database

“FLAT” DATABASE

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• A restaurant (or any business involved in the selling of goods) will be monitoring both inventory and customer behavior

• Commonly monitored behavior at a restaurant: Frequency of dining, size of party, average cost of meal, average cost of beverages …

• With a flat database, for each customer and for each individual behavioral action, you would need to create a new individual record– Again, resulting in a ton of data in one single

database

“FLAT” DATABASE EXAMPLE: RESTAURANTS

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TOO MUCH STUFF, NOT ENOUGH SPACE

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WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?

• In the old days, you won by volume: Sending more email than everyone else

• Focus was on cost and volume

• That doesn’t necessarily fly anymore: Consumers and subscribers have gotten a lot smarter

THE NEED TO “UN-FLATTEN”

• The game has changed…

– Using dedicated ESPs, basic segmentations, first-name values was good at first

– But true segmentation goes deeper than that

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WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

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WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

• By using deep segmentation to send smarter, more personalized messages, your communication is more effective

• A message without value to the recipient means you’ve wasted your time and theirs

• Sending the wrong content does nothing to help you retain a customer or a subscriber, and it doesn’t help you grow your business

SO WHAT IS A RELATIONAL DATABASE, ANYWAY?

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RELATIONAL DATABASE DEFINED

• A relational database goes beyond the traditional flat “database with many fields and records” methodology

• Simply put, a relational database comprises multiple tables, each of which has its own fields with their own records

• Each table represents its own subject – Customer data, order data, supplier data, etc.

• One record per customer

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RELATIONAL DATABASE EXAMPLE

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RELATIONAL DATABASE EXAMPLE

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RELATIONAL DATABASE EXAMPLE

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SO WHY DOES IT MATTER?

• Remember our restaurant example from before:

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WITH A RELATIONAL TABLE…

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POTENTIAL USES

• Reward loyal customers who dine at this restaurant often

• Segment email campaigns based on time of day – frequent lunch meals during the work week, for example

• Segment based upon meal or beverage affinity (“We noticed you like steak, so here’s a deal on steak”

• Use your imagination

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GOING DEEPER - ECOMMERCE

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GOING DEEPER - ECOMMERCE

• One of the best examples of this: Amazon

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SEND THE RIGHT CONTENT TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

• Basket analysis is an excellent strategy– You bought the phone, you probably want the charger or the headset

• Be mindful of the timing– Someone who just bought a set of golf clubs probably isn’t looking for a new

driver anytime soon– But targeted ads for new shoes at the beginning of golf season?– Or last year’s holiday shoppers?

• Use the data you’ve collected to make your messages personalized– You ARE collecting data, even if you don’t necessarily realize it

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SEGMENT, SEGMENT, SEGMENT

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USE CASE – FINANCIAL SERVICES

Primary Database Relational Data Tables

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USE CASE – PUBLISHING

Primary Database Relational Data Tables

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SO WHY DOES A RELATIONAL DATABASE MATTER?

• Makes your data much more manageable, easier to update

• Allows for deeper, richer segmentation

• Allows for even more granular reporting / drill-downs

• Data is easily modified (in WhatCounts, data is managed the same as other lists – upload manually or via API)

• Did we mention segmentation?

QUESTIONS?

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UPCOMING CHICAGO ROAD SHOW

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• Join us for the FREE “We Love Email” Road Show in Chicago! Thursday, March 27, 2014W Hotel City Center, Chicago

• Industry-leading best practices, the latest trends, key performance benchmarks, time with our CEO and more!

• www.whatcounts.com/roadshow

REACH OUT TO US

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WhatCounts

3630 Peachtree Road, NESuite 900Atlanta, GA 303261-866-804-0076

www.whatcounts.com

Twitter: @whatcounts

sales@whatcounts.com

THANK YOU!

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