Next-best-action Marketing - History

History

The Next Best Action paradigm is not new nor is it only applicable in marketing. A similar concept was suggested by John Boyd of the United States Airforce (OODA Loop). In a military context it describes thinking on the fly with distributed, local decision-making versus planned campaigns and objectives. In marketing it has only recently been possible to make decisions fast enough on an enterprise scale to build a ‘mini-business case’ in real-time, considering many courses of action before deciding on the best one.

From a business perspective, the rise of the next-best-action paradigm has in part been triggered by an increasing emphasis on inbound marketing. Organizations have found that volume in the inbound channels (web, call center, ATM, branch, etc.) is increasing in recent years, while outbound channels (direct mail, cold calling, etc.) are increasingly challenged. The reason for this is threefold: 1) customers have become less tolerant of receiving outbound marketing solicitations; 2) new regulations limit spam or spam-like activities, telemarketing calls and direct mail; and 3) customers are increasingly Internet savvy.