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Claritas helps companies find customers. Through our podcasts we hope to help you better understand consumers, why they buy, and how they prefer to interact with you. We'll explore topics important to today's marketers so we can get you one step closer to your next customer.
Don't Let The Word "Custom" Scare You
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Monique: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the Marketing Insider, a podcast for marketers focused on finding and targeting their ideal customers at scale. I'm your host, Monique Ruiz. Before we dive into today's topic, I want to address the elephant in the room. If you're a loyal follower, you may have noticed it's been a little while since our last episode.
We've had an extremely busy last couple of months, which included the acquisition of Arts. ai, the fastest growing AI company in the ad tech sector. So needless to say, our marketing department has had a lot going on and my beloved podcast was a temporary casualty while we've been focused on the integration.
If this is the first time you're hearing about the recent acquisition, I'll go ahead and link the press release in the description box of this episode so you can learn more. But I did want to get that little bit of housekeeping out of the way first. [00:01:00] Now on to today's podcast episode. I'm excited about every episode we do, but we're covering something we haven't ever touched on in the however many years that we've been bringing you, The Marketing Insider.
If you're listening to this episode as it airs, you know that we're in December. And by now, you've probably done your reflection on how the year went for your business and where there's room for improvement and you're now making concrete plans or starting to turn decisions into action for a strong start to the new year.
So what's one of the most effective ways you can start the new year off on the best foot for your business and use your marketing budget to its fullest potential? Well, that's what we're going to find out with my guest, Omri Ravid, the VP of Strategic Consulting here at Claritas. He's going to spend some time talking to us about what it means to work with a consulting team to help you achieve specific goals for your business.
Because we all know as much as we'd love to, it's hard to do everything on our own. And sometimes it just makes sense to let the [00:02:00] professionals do what they do best while we reap the rewards. And without further ado, let's bring Omri into the conversation. Omri, welcome to the Marketing Insider. Hey, Monique, thanks for inviting me.
Of course. You and I have worked together for a long time, but it is your first time on the podcast. So for our listeners who might not know your voice yet, please introduce yourself and your role at Claritas.
Omry: Thanks, Monique. Yeah. Hey, everybody. Happy you're listening in. My name is Amr Avid. I've been with Claritas roughly eight to nine years and currently as I serve as the VP of strategic consulting and in real layman terms and looking behind that definition of strategic consulting.
What that really means is I lead our analytic solution and delivery team with a team of consultants and analysts that develop solutions and help deliver them.
Monique: So one of the many things that your team is responsible for is the delivery of analytics projects. But since our listeners likely have varying knowledge of the world of [00:03:00] analytics, how would you explain to them what a team like yours does on a day to day basis?
You just talked a little bit about it, but what's the day to day like for you?
Omry: That's a really good question, Winnie, because it's very broad. And while a lot of days we might know what we're working on, a lot of times projects are very different from each other's, because if you think about the term analytics, it's a pretty broad term.
It can include a lot of different things that we do in our business, from building audiences to developing measurement solutions to building out segmentation. So the way I think about the work that we do, I break down the, the, the things that we do across B2C and B2B into, into four groupings. One is.
Audience building where we're building audiences to put out into the digital ecosystem for clients to target or even send direct mail to, um, or even define what they watch and listen to on radio and TV. And that can be done through selecting a set of criteria or developing some type of predicting model.
For example, in the B2B world, we worked with a manufacturer [00:04:00] who was going to target 40, 000 different businesses and narrowed down those businesses that they could target to 5, 000 businesses. That's still maintain 90 percent of their overall potential revenue across the whole 40, 000 businesses, creating a huge cost savings for them in the amount of money they had to spend on the actual campaign.
Another category that we typically work with is developing segmentations. Some of our clients may have heard the term fast analytics. We call it some of our segmentation systems. We, we bucket into something we call fast analytics, and that's really helping our clients strategically understand the different types of customers that they have so that they can develop relevant marketing strategies.
Messaging and campaigns to target each one of the different segments in the most effective way and help find prospects for each of those different segments. A good example of that where the results really were were fantastic was we're building currently a segmentation system for a streaming service where they're trying to segment across 35 different types of variables and we're able to [00:05:00] cover the different types of customers that they are looking for across the US.
At an 85 percent clip, uh, which is pretty, uh, spectacular compared to what they're doing today. Yeah. We, we also help our clients, by the way, Monique, with primary research. I, I don't think a lot of our clients know that, uh, Corotas does custom research as well. So we collect primary research on behalf of our clients.
Um, we tend to specialize in multicultural research, but we also do research aligned to our segmentation systems. So if there's something you want to learn about our, uh, certain prism segment or cycle segment or connection segment. We can conduct primary research and go apply that to those segments. So you can use them in the same way.
You can use that data in the same way. That you use segmentation information today. And then, and then generally we do a lot of a lot of other stuff like data integration, um, or sometimes we just have a bucket of analytics hours that clients like to use to go deeper into information. We have clients measure their campaigns.
If there's some kind of custom measurement metric that they're trying to use, that's not. Within our [00:06:00] standard solution. Uh, the real way I just think about what analytics does is really just think of the term custom or not on the, not off the shelf, and we have to create little tweaks to something that the client is looking for.
And that's typically when the sales teams will bring in somebody from our, our consulting or analytics team.
Monique: Yeah, and we'll get into that a little bit more when you're talking about custom, but I just wanted to make a quick mention that we do actually have several case studies that were based on some of the work your team did for clients.
So listeners, if you want to see even more proof points as to just how valuable engaging with the strategic consulting team can be. Just go ahead and check out the description box. And we've got some links there for you. So I always try to stay neutral with my questions for my fellow Clariton guests, but I, I do also think it's important to hear what makes Claritas stand out from the competition because it's beneficial across the board.
It helps listeners in their decision making process as to what they can [00:07:00] expect. It shows our competitors where they might be to step up their game. And of course it gives us a little chance to humble brag. So Omri, is there anything unique about how. You work with clients versus another provider who maybe they offer a similar consulting service.
Omry: So, Monique, I'll be honest. It's hard to always say because of the fact that we pitch our solutions, and we don't necessarily always see our competitors pitch their solutions. But from feedback that we've gotten from clients, which has been pretty consistent and even honestly gotten from our partners or our competitors, who we also work with is in clear talks and like solutions, we're not just delivering a one size fits all type approach, but we're specifically looking for different nuances of different situations in different clients.
Where we can bring in the most relevant data for them, where we can build out the segmentation to fully meet their specific objectives, and we can customize things to make sure that the client is getting the max benefit out of whatever solution we're [00:08:00] providing. And that's what we've received as feedback from clients.
And the reason that they chose us and the reason why they feel like they're getting the highest quality, uh, door rolls back and things that they can really make the most ROI on. But the other thing that I think makes, makes my team stand out. And I'm calling the team out for this, is really the fact that they're just really diligent.
They're going through everything they have, testing multiple approaches, using multiple methods to maximize the data in our hands and the platforms in our hands to create the highest quality deliverables possible.
Monique: Yeah. I love the shout out to the team.
Omry: Um, well, they do a great job. And then the last thing that I think is, is unique to us.
Versus other companies who might do segmentation or other companies who might do primary research, it's just the actual ability of the segmentation in the primary research that we conduct because of the fact that we link it back to the ground, as we used to say, and are able to turn in that research and that [00:09:00] segmentation.
into digital audiences, into direct mail audiences, able to profile it with other data, such as psychographics or lifestyles or media consumption. Clients can really take action on the segments that we deliver versus just those segments being so called insightful. Do we really play on both ends of the insights in the activation?
Monique: You know, clients don't realize they're in a position where they can't really do anything with the work that they've just invested in until it's in their hands sometimes. So knowing that we have checkpoints throughout projects, that's nice to know. And I think listeners should kind of take note of that as something they need to request with any provider or partner that they work with in any capacity.
Omry: And Monique, the number of times that, that clients have come to us and said, we had, um, company X build a segmentation for us, but now we struggle to use it is endless. We get that all the time. And then we come in and try to so called, um, and I say this in quotations, crosswalk the segmentation they [00:10:00] already have to something that can be actionable.
So they don't have to go change their complete strategic view. But can still take action. So that's another thing to think about is even if you already have a segmentation system, you should think about how actionable is it. Can you go target these segments digitally? Can you go find them where they live?
What stores they're shopping? And if you can't, we can take your current segmentation system and help you crosswalk that to something that is more a little bit more actionable for you.
Monique: Good to know. As we start to wrap up another year, businesses are likely kind of doing those deeper dives into their go to market strategy and subsequent campaigns.
And this might include an internal analysis of what worked and what didn't work. We just went through that with our own marketing team. What needs to completely change? What can be built on or incrementally improved upon? And I think budgets at this time of year, they've either just been finalized and communicated, or they're in the process of being finalized.
So it's the perfect time to think about what you're going to do to [00:11:00] take your marketing to the next level. Omri, who is the ideal candidate for a strategic consulting team to work with?
Omry: Honestly, anyone. If you have a problem you're trying to solve that you struggled with, you raise the problem and ask if there's something the consulting team can solve.
Because honestly, it's hard to come in and say, There's only situation X or situation Y where you'd bring in this consulting team. Our, our whole job is to come in and try to help solve problems with all the data and methods that we have. Yeah,
Monique: that makes sense. And you know, since we do like to keep it real on our podcast, is there a type of client or company that you would consider maybe not worth the time, effort, or investment for a strategic consulting relationship, whether it's on our part or on their part?
Omry: There are probably some very specific outliers, but the idea is, even if you ask the question and we can't solve it, we'll be honest and saying, we can't solve it. So, my suggestion is just raise it.
Monique: Yeah, it's always it's always worth looking [00:12:00] into, but I am going to probe a little bit deeper on. Budget. So budget is almost always the number one concern our own marketing team has when it comes to tools that we want to add to our arsenal or consultants that we might seek out to help with certain processes.
And I'm sure the same can be said for marketers from other companies. And I know that costs will widely vary based on several factors, but can you give us an idea about maybe what an investment might, you might be looking at when you're bringing in a strategic consulting team?
Omry: Monique, as you ask that question, I think to myself, my answer is exactly why I'm in analytics.
Because my answer, my answer is it all depends. It always depends. There's always a situation when a solution if we if we think about it and analyze it because we we have solutions that range anywhere from from 2000 to 1. 5 million or more so that the range is really wide, depending on what we're trying to achieve.
Um, and even in situations [00:13:00] where clients haven't had budget, we have flexible ways of trying to figure out how we can do the analytics work to get them to pay through it through like activation dollars or through funds they may already have associated with cartas so that they pay for it indirectly. So, so again, that's where I say that it's just.
It's always worth just asking a question and having a 30 minute conversation about it and being honest. I also recommend to clients for their own efficiency to just be open about whether they have budget or don't have budget or what the budget might be to allow us to tailor and maximize that solution for them to make sure that that they can actually gain something from it and not accidentally come back to them with a high budget solution.
Uh, that can be solved in, in another way, but we'll have probably many caveats to it, but still get them the direction they need.
Monique: Yeah. Makes sense. So now that we know what types of projects your team might be brought in for and who, uh, the right, or maybe not right now candidate might be, tell [00:14:00] us about some of your favorite projects that you've been involved in.
What were some of the challenges that clients brought to us and what did we ultimately help them uncover?
Omry: Good question. I, I honestly, I really enjoy my job. So there's a bunch of projects that are just popping into my head right now. I mean, we've money. We've done anything from projects about mouse repelling to projects about a TVs or credit unions and trying to figure out who's likely to buy the newest.
You know, iPhone or whatever it might be. So like our projects from really range across a lot of interesting different things. Some of the things that are kind of popping to my mind is I really like the B2B predictive modeling work that we're doing for 2 big reasons. 1, it seems like. It's hugely beneficial to clients that the response from clients and the has been had been great after we deliver these and saying we're hitting on the right types of businesses for them.
Their campaign execution performance has improved. So that's 1 time on the other side of it. Also, we've heard that we're bringing something pretty new to the industry where while [00:15:00] we're predicting which businesses are likely to respond, we're also then able to find context at those businesses and enable multi channel.
Campaign execution against context at those businesses. So you can target them through display, social LinkedIn and email across both. And this is the cool part, their business identity, but also across their personal identity so that we can really increase performance. And I referenced performance earlier.
We've seen some of our email campaigns in this B2B space get over a 50 percent open rate and over 80 percent click rate in a lot of situations. So, so that's why I'm excited about that. Yeah,
Monique: you know, we don't always get the approval to do case studies on every project that we have. But when there's a big, exciting thing that we're doing with clients internally, we share the news.
So I've, I've been on a few email strings in the past where. We've seen some of these clients successes and it's always really exciting to see. So I'm re I know you're not just, uh, you're not being hyperbolic when you're saying that, you know, each, each job makes you excited and each project makes you [00:16:00] happy.
Omry: And it's, it's, it's shared in money. Goals to say, like our new, um. AI solution that we brought in from ArtsAI is really cool as well. I think it really is unique in the marketplace and being able to run on the fly, be extremely dynamic and use some really smart methodology on the backend. Um, and even just the process and the way that's set up, um, so like, as I'm getting more into that, I find that really intriguing as well.
Monique: So you mentioned this before and I mentioned it before as well, but I do want to reiterate a little bit because I think it's important and potentially even something where listeners might want to pull up their notes app on their phone or grab a pen and paper to take a note on this. But some of our success stories over the years have come from clients who have come to us after previously working with another company that provided them a ton of data or slick presentations, but then nothing was actionable outside of the work that they did directly with that company, which meant limited flexibility.
So to avoid a wasteful [00:17:00] situation like this, what are some questions that you suggest asking a potential partner you're evaluating for your business needs? This
Omry: may not be the first question you end up asking, but a question you should 100 percent ask is all about how have other clients use this or how similar clients use this.
It's important. I talked at a reference back to what we talked about earlier about people building segmentation systems and then not being able to actually take action on them. That's something you really want to identify up front. Is how are you actually going to use what we deliver and having a conversation about that with us?
I don't think we can completely answer the question for you because some of it is dependent on your own business, but starting the conversation on that. So you're already planning for the end deliverable and being able to take action on that and deliverable as it's delivered versus 236 months later.
Other questions I would maybe think about is how the data is integrated or how the solution might be integrated within your business. That kind of goes with the previous question I asked, but slightly different in the [00:18:00] fact that it's important to understand how our information works with other information you have.
And it's important to talk about too, because as we build our analyses, We want to make sure that we're integrating everything you have as well, and not just the information we have. So those, I think, are 2 key questions that maybe aren't always asked, but I think are important to talk about. And I'll be honest.
Our consultants are probably going to bring those up proactively anyways. As you're talking to other, other companies as well, I do recommend those being, um, two key questions you ask.
Monique: Right. And at the end of the day, we'd love to have everyone do business with us, but we know that's not realistic, but we do want you to be successful, whoever you are, whatever company you are.
So part of this podcast is bringing you those questions that you should be asking anybody that you're working with, whether it's us, whether it's somebody else. So I appreciate you being open there and helping our listeners make the best decisions for their business.
Omry: And Monique, hopefully I don't go too far with my next comment, but on the.
On the line of being open, right? The other thing I might say is [00:19:00] maybe I could question that you're welcome to ask, but, but you should always consider never has a perfect answer is what are the exact results I'm expected to get? Or how do I can you confirm that I'm going to get experts that lift from doing this analysis?
I just know from being out in the market and talking to clients and other other companies, and a lot of people make commitments of those sort. And the honest truth is, it's hard to say, because there's so many variables that end up going into how you end up using this information. Um, that's really hard to get to a specific percentage and 100 percent confirm that we can always give you expectations.
We can always give you averages or. Other examples, but I'd always be cautious when somebody's promising you a, a 100 percent increase in lift, um, no matter what, because that's really hard to assess on the up front of of a project.
Monique: Yeah, that's a good point. And I think that's also where case studies or testimonials come in handy because while you can't give a concrete [00:20:00] number or percentage or whatever.
You can say, this is what we've done with others, other companies similar to yours. So you can kind of get a, an idea of what type of success you might see. Uh, but again, it varies client by client, situation by situation. So it's good to, to make that clear. That kind of does lead me into my next question.
So I mentioned at the beginning of our interview that it is the time of year where companies are evaluating performance to determine where maybe there's some potential gaps that need to be closed, and they're looking at ways to set themselves up for success in the new year. So, Homri, is now the right time to engage a strategic consulting team if you want to go into the new year with a solid plan that's ready for implementation?
Omry: 100%, like I said, even in that initial conversation and starting to get a sense of what you're trying to solve for, we can probably give you some kind of rough estimates of. How long this might take and how long it'll take for you to get going and being able to use that solution. And then what [00:21:00] better time than the beginning of the year to help you kind of think through and plan for, for everything else that you're doing in the year and start the year off with, with some kind of incremental value to improve results throughout the year.
Monique: Yeah, good to know. So I, I know it's not an overnight thing, but you don't want to spend half a year, year waiting for results. So as a side note, Omri, I have to share offline. I'll share a case study with you that I saw another company publish in a financial newsletter that I subscribed to where that's exactly what happened.
They, took a year to work with a client. Then they told them the results and they were not good results. And now they're doing more projects with them. So that's not something that's, that would be my tip to avoid a situation like that.
Omry: Yeah. And we really tried to not get into that type of situation when he, because we'll have check ins with clients throughout project.
I mean, even if it's a four to six week project, we'll probably still have at least two check ins in that four to six week process before we get to the final deliverable to, to make sure we're all on the same page, everybody knows what's coming. Um, it also tends to [00:22:00] make the projects better because there's some brainstorming that goes on after you see some initial results.
That the client might bring up or that we might bring up that may make us all think a little bit differently and improve the process
Monique: as a whole. I have one more question for you before we kind of wrap up the conversation today. Thinking about the long term, once you've used a strategic consultant team to help you with a custom analytics project of some sort.
Is it a one and done situation? Should you be reengaging the team a year, two years, five years, et cetera later? Is there a timely cadence or a business quote unquote life event that should trigger data refreshes? Walk us through that.
Omry: There, there's a, there's a fine balance here of, uh, one, what is the solution?
But, but outside of that, let's say for example, a segmentation system or an audience that, that we've developed for you, and you're, you start using, there's a balance of one. You want that to be used long enough so you can fully take advantage of it. Because I'm making up an example. Let's say you only use a, a audience that we've developed for a week.
[00:23:00] You're probably not maximizing everything you can get from that audience. Mm-Hmm, . Or if you're only using a segmentation system for a year. Right. You're probably still haven't been able to develop and take advantage of all the strategic benefit of that segmentation. The way that I would think about it is.
Think of the micro and macro changes that are happening at your business and in your industry and in the market as a whole, and the big ones, are they changing who your customers are? And there's two ways to do that. One is your own kind of assessment and saying, for example, I know that my business has transitioned and rebranded.
That might mean you're bringing a different type of customer. So that's a good example of a macro change that will likely affect who your customers are. And you should consider either rebuilding or changing or confirming your segmentation. So one way is for you to think about the things going on in your own business, um, in the macro environment.
The other way is, um, we do offer on an annual basis that we can just confirm your audience or confirm your segments and make sure that they're still performing at the rate that we originally. Uh, develop them and I said once a year, but some clients do it even more [00:24:00] often and that's a good way to just consistently ensure that you're down the right path and define when you might want to make a change as well.
Monique: Cool. I think that's a, um, a good way to end the conversation. So Omri, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing your wisdom with our listeners.
Omry: Thanks for having me, Monique. Yeah. This was
Monique: a lot of fun. Awesome. And of course, I want to thank those of you listening at home or on the go. If you've not already, please take a moment to follow the Marketing Insider so you never miss an episode.
Rate us five stars on your podcast app of choice. Our favorite being Spotify and share us with a friend or colleague so we can keep the conversation going. And with that, we'll see you next time with a brand new episode. Bye now.[00:25:00]