INTERNET MEDIA: iLux technology heralds start of true one-to-one Internet marketing

<p>Picture a man clicking his way through a supermarket website. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He clicks on items to place them in his shopping basket, all the while a </p><p>running total tells him how much he is buying. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Nothing special here. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, what is special is that the next time he visits this website, </p><p>banner ads and pop-ups appear on the screen with messages about </p><p>discounts on items he purchased before. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This represents the closest model yet to the true definition of </p><p>one-to-one marketing, and it was made possible with new technology </p><p>developed by US company iLux Corporation, which recently agreed to sell </p><p>a 30 per cent equity stake in itself to Hong Kong-based dotcom firm, </p><p>Cash Online. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The banner ads and pop-ups are customised to each consumer's tastes and </p><p>needs - and because they are computer-generated, the customisation </p><p>possibilities are virtually limitless. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>iLux president Ted Marr said the way to build profits through the </p><p>ecommerce channel was to have software that tracked a customer's every </p><p>move on the Web in order to build a profile of that person. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Once you have a detailed profile of the person, the computer can </p><p>generate customised Web ads - with the aid of a template. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This gives rise to better one-on-one business-to-consumer relationships </p><p>and it will lead to better customer support," Mr Marr told MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He claimed that this type of attention to detail is 100 times more </p><p>powerful than anything currently on the market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The technology produces a pure communications message to one person and </p><p>that establishes a personal touch in an Internet world which right now </p><p>is quite impersonal," Mr Marr said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, this application employs both on-line and off-line methods to </p><p>communicate with consumers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When consumers enter a website with the iLux technology in it, visit and </p><p>purchase behaviour, demographic data and Web forms are noted down. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These are then analysed to understand who the visitors are and what </p><p>their interests are, which paves the way for the company to match </p><p>visitor interests to specific products and services through </p><p>advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The final step is to embrace certain aspects of advertising to reinforce </p><p>certain messages to consumers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This is accomplished by iLux through a variety of methods including </p><p>telemarketing, in-store electronic kiosks, direct mail and targeted </p><p>emails. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>iLux vice-president John Yung - who is currently in the process of </p><p>setting up an Asia-Pacific office in Hong Kong - said: "Everyone is </p><p>talking about total integration and we are doing the same. In this case, </p><p>we try to serve the customer as best we can by getting to know them </p><p>through their history." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added that consumers can also, through a chat box, talk to a sales </p><p>representative to get more information about a certain product or </p><p>service. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The sales rep will have at his disposal the purchasing history of the </p><p>consumer to ensure the best possible service, said Mr Yung. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He stressed that all data is aggregated by the computer and detailed </p><p>information is not passed onto unauthorised people to ensure privacy </p><p>laws are not breached. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>