Campaign optimization in practice

Challenge: 

Sending campaigns and reaching the consumer involves a lot of analysis and adjustment to the optimal shipping time, to the channel that best suits a given user and the implementation of complex personalization.

Campaign optimization is key to every successful digital advertising campaign. It is not possible to run marketing activities without continuous optimization. Of course, it is best to make decisions regarding the time of sending the campaign or the best communication channels based on data analysis, but automating the process is even better. Taking a step forward, we decided to create such an opportunity for all our customers, thanks to which optimization will become simplified and accessible to everyone. 

Attribution models are a great optimization tool, but they require to complement them with a more personalized approach. 

Business background 

We help our clients face their challenges to growth and sales. For one of them we decided to answer the two main questions connected with optimization of the campaign.

1. How to find and use the optimal time for sending campaigns.
2. How to choose the best communication channel for specific group of clients (depending on which channel specific client responds better to).

An attempt to answer prompted us to work on the optimal solution with our client, who participated in the development process with us. The main point of this opportunity was to prepare a product based on Synerise without additional development and additional work of our IT department. 

Main assumptions 

Our campaign optimizer is based on the Synerise platform. We can optimize all the elements of a campaign; audience, offer, channel, cost and time as you see on the screen below. 

• Audience optimization – Based on an AI churn module, you can optimize the audience for your content. Additionally, our real-time data processing allows us to create various real time segmentations such like RFE/RFM or any other type you would like to prepare based on your data. 
  It is very important to use a control group, because this allows you to measure the real effectiveness of our campaigns and compare results.
• Offer optimization – Offer optimization is easy when you have powerful tools like AI Recommendations or Personalized Promotions. This can also be achieved by using A/B/X testing with AI group allocation for targeted goals or events manually delivering the content for custom audience.
• Channel optimization – Again, thanks to real time data processing we take feedback directly from your end users. This allows us to set preferred channel based on their real-time decisions. Customers not responding your SMS campaigns? We can find their preferred channel for better, more effective communications.
• Cost optimization – Based on various metrics we can setup a preferred channel for communication. We can check metrics and other analyses to see the real cost of campaigns in different channels e.g. their ROI, CTR, CRC and so on. 
  A huge number of diverse analytics, which we can use in any unlimited way, allows us to accurately assess the cost of our marketing activities. We can integrate with many different platforms and have knowledge about the real costs of external advertisements and we have the all data about the transactions. Based on them, we can estimate with high accuracy the real costs incurred by the client.
• Time optimization – Our AI powered time optimization will identify the best time to send a campaign and maximize conversions.

How is the channel optimizer built? 

We wanted this solution to function without the need for any pre-configuration and to be fully customizable. 

The assumption for the algorithm for this solution is presented below. 

As the channel optimizer is fully customizable, we also wanted to deliver a simple, predefined option. Based on this assumption, CTR scoring was made. The only thing that needs to be done to send the campaign is to choose the proper segment in the campaign creator. The algorithm recalculates the client after every event that relates to the campaign— when the campaign is sent, opened, clicked or when a transaction is made. 

Business benefits 

Optimization of the shipping time and communication channel is essential for any business. It has several key advantages that translate into sales and KPIs:

1. Such optimization allows you to cut costs by not sending campaigns that do not bring you any results.
2. It increases the engagement of your customers. If we choose the best communication channel for them, we don't have to spam them with many messages, since we’re sure that the message we are sending will reach them.
3. Sending the campaign at the best possible time, when the most users are active and we are more certain that they will receive them – can boost the chances for a conversion.

How to set it up 

Step 1 PREDEFINED ANALYTICS 

The main assumption is to provide a ready-made solution. 

 What you will find there: 

• Segments based on actual channel scoring (for CTR or ROI type)
• Actual scoring aggregates, Expressions to calculate individual scoring for SMS/ Email / Mobile Push / Web Push channels
• Metrics for SMS/ Email / Mobile Push / Web Push channels you want to use
• Automation to calculate the scoring in 2 ways – daily or in real time based on your preferences

All of these are fully configurable! 

Step 2 CREATE THE CAMPAIGN  

Next you have to create a new campaign for every channel you want to use.

Channel optimization 

In the campaign creator, name your campaign and go to AUDIENCE tab, where you should choose a segment from the list. It should be a predefined segment indicating the preferred channel. Just choose the audience from the list and this is all you need to achieve channel optimization.  

Time optimization

We can also use AI Based time optimization in campaign creator. To do this you have to click the schedule tab. Then you have to decide in which time range you want to send your campaign. Then the system will show you the most optimal shipment date.

The Synerise approach to time optimization includes multiple sources of client interactions – (not only campaign-related), like page visits, interaction with mobile app, transactional data and so on. The algorithm can also learn based on the behavior of similar users and can handle situations when we have limited campaign feedback for specific users and then base our recommendations on users with a similar behavioral profile.  

Step 3 CREATE ADVANCED JOURNEY

If we do expect an advanced “campaign management” approach, we have the target group and the content is ready, we can build an automation process. 

Start from the trigger Audience e.g. you can add here whole database which will be recalculated daily.  

Then use the predefined Send Client Event node with applied scoring calculation. 

Now we can split the path to different campaigns. If the calculation determines that email will be chosen as the best campaign type for a specific client, emails will be sent. If it will be the SMS – this group of customers will receive the SMS and so on.
More information about building this automation can be found in our Help Center

Remember! In step 1 you can create your own analytics and use them in future steps! 
In advanced analytics you can use also different indicators for comparing channels. We give you the possibility to pick the methodology for doing such channel comparisons. It could be totally different if you have different types of campaigns, metrics, methodology or approach. 
More information about building this automation can be found in our Help Center

Summary 

Optimization is available and ready to use for every client. You can have channel optimization set up in Audience and time optimization set up in Schedule in your campaign creator. Everything can be set up quick directly when creating one campaign. Also, based on the automation presented above the database is recalculated, so it works in real time. If the data or customer behavior changes, the recommendations will also change automatically and always be as precise as possible.