Multichannel Forensics A to Z: Database Marketing

In many ways, Multichannel Forensics (book, study) is a logical extension of popular techniques that fall under the title of "Database Marketing".

The goal of Database Marketing is to store information about the behavior of customers or users, then combine the information in an actionable way to either increase sales, or increase profit.

Unfortunately, the easiest way to increase sales or profit is to impact marketing campaigns. As a consequence, Database Marketing (as well as Web Analytics and Business Intelligence, both logical extensions of Database Marketing) became campaign-focused, looking to optimize short-term sales and profit. And by doing so, Database Marketing lost relevance among the mythical folks that occupy the coveted wing of the corporate office known as the "C-Suite".

Multichannel Forensics move beyond campaigns, looking instead to quantify the long-term health of a business, as a function of prior customer behavior and anticipated future trends.

If you want to capture the imagination of an executive, hold a crystal ball that tells the executive what the future looks like. Multichannel Forensics make for a good crystal ball.