What is interactive marketing?

What is interactive marketing, anyway?

According to Wikipedia:

The definition of interactive marketing comes from John Deighton at Harvard, who says interactive marketing is the ability to address the customer, remember what the customer says and address the customer again in a way that illustrates that we remember what the customer has told us (Deighton 1996).

Two-way interaction is what makes interactive marketing stand out, and what makes it so effective. Traditional marketing techniques focus primarily on pushing information out to potential customers. The problem with this is that the information consumers are receiving isn't quite what they want to see. Interactive marketing is a game-changer, both for marketers and consumers. It enables marketers to turn their marketing efforts into a true conversation, which thereby helps keep customers engaged and help ensure that companies will get the maximum return on their marketing dollars. For consumers, interactive marketing is a plus because it allows them to find out exactly what they want to know about products and services that interest them.

Amazon is a good example of a company that truly understands interactive marketing. Amazon recommends books and other items to them based on their purchases history. So, for example, if a customer has purchased several science fiction books, Amazon will recommend others in the same genre. This helps both parties. The customer may be exposed to some great books that they would really enjoy, and would not have heard about otherwise. For Amazon, directing their marketing in this way ensures that they are directing specific, relevant information at their customers instead of just advertising random books and hoping the customer will like them enough to purchase one. Look for a further analysis of analysis in a future post!

So, to sum it up: interactive marketing is all about keeping consumers engaged by obtaining some information from them, and then using this information to provide them with a customized message that is tailored to their wants and needs.