Welcome. With the launch of the new InternetNews.com site, I’m happy to present my debut post. As copy editor here, I attack the grammatical violations I find in the pieces you read on the site (hopefully before you read them!), but for this blog, I’ll be focusing on innovations in the world of technology.
Recently I spoke with Sheldon Gilbert, founder and CEO of Proclivity Systems, about the company’s Proclivity Mail software, which predicts what customers will buy on a site and sends out targeting e-mails based on the consumer’s interests.
Now is this innovative? Well, Gilbert mentioned that a large amount of data is wasted when browsers lurk on a site and not buy. “Click-through data is not being used and can provide immense info on what customers really want,” he said. Gilbert calls this data a “digital behavior bank.”
With Proclivity Mail, the company aims to know what the company will buy with “unprecedented accuracy.” Now, I know I don’t want more spam, but at least the company will make it more focused on what we want. “It’s always been the holy grail to know what your customers want and at what price point,” Gilbert said.
The company previously went under the name Gilbert Systems but is relaunching its site next month under the name Proclivity Systems. Barney’s New York online division is one of the retailers using Proclivity’s engine.
As for privacy, Proclivity calls this service “permission-based marketing,” since clients put up a disclaimer about the service. On Barney’s privacy page the company discloses that it sends this information to third parties and allows you to opt out. This seems fair, but how many people click on the privacy policy at the bottom of the page?
Let’s keep an eye on predictive e-mail marketing and see where this goes.
