Why near real-time data isn’t good enough anymore

In today’s highly digital world, consumers expect seamless, personalized brand experiences across channels and devices. Yet many companies struggle to make that vision a reality. Why? The reliance on batch-updated, near real-time data that simply can’t meet modern consumer expectations for relevant, in-the-moment connection.

The problem with near real-time data

Have you ever had a laggy video call where people talk over each other? Or maybe you’ve experienced spotty cell phone coverage where you miss part of the conversation. These “near real-time” communication experiences are frustrating and diminish the quality of engagement.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of experience many consumers have today with companies because of near real-time data limitations. Even for sophisticated D2C and digital native companies, near real-time data causes a disconnect between the consumer and the companies that leaves both parties unsatisfied. Consumers share negative experiences like being offered irrelevant promotions or outdated rewards that seem disjointed from their journey.

The issue lies in the inherent lag between when consumer actions occur and when near real-time data is used to trigger relevant messaging. If this delay is even just minutes or seconds, it causes messaging to seem out of sync with the consumer’s experience. For example, a customer may provide their email to receive a coupon, but get an outdated offer instead of the expected reward due to data lag.

On top of this fundamental timing issue, near real-time data workflows bog marketers down with tedious, repetitive manual tasks like constantly downloading, cleaning, reformatting and re-uploading data. This leaves little time to focus on critical activities like strategy development, creative campaigns, and tackling complex business problems that drive growth. It often feels like no sooner than marketers execute a query or data task, they need to walk away and get coffee while waiting for systems to process.

Why real-time data changes the game

Shifting from near real-time data to true real-time data transforms the consumer experience and unlocks new potential for marketers.

With real-time data, companies can react to consumer behavior and actions the instant they happen, regardless of channel. This means sending targeted, contextually relevant messages attuned to where the consumer is in their journey. No more talking over each other or feeling out of sync.

Additionally, real-time data alleviates the tedious, manual processes that eat up marketers’ days. Cleaning, transforming, and loading data can happen automatically in the platform. Marketers are freed up to focus on creativity, testing ideas, and tackling complex business problems.

The Cordial difference: data speed, scale and throughput

Cordial is the only marketing platform built specifically to help companies leverage real-time data for automated, personalized messaging at an unlimited scale. This drives increased revenue growth through better customer experiences.

Our powerful data platform seamlessly collects real-time data from all your systems without limitations. Any data you need to better understand customers is instantly available to inform your messaging.

We refer to this unmatched capability combining data speed, scale, and complexity as personalization throughput. Cordial uses real-time data across unlimited contacts and attributes to generate 1:1 relevant messaging that would make other platforms bog down.

Combined with multi-channel delivery, Cordial enables companies to react instantly to signals and behaviors. This creates highly relevant messaging and experiences that foster loyalty and trust.

Don’t settle for the disconnect of near real-time data. Empower your brand with Cordial and the authenticity of real-time data.