“Behavioral decay” is a term I’ve coined to describe the lifespan that behavioral data maintains from the perspective of the recipient, the end user. That is, consumer actions that are made today will likely be relevant tomorrow but less relevant over time, and at some point will become irrelevant. This is a concept similar to diminishing returns, in that the use of a lever becomes less valuable, in this case, over time.
Behavior, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Those who conducted a specific behavior are the ones who will also judge its’ importance and act upon your consumer-centric programs, or not. They will remember the targeted behavior only for a period of time. The exact period of time and the rate of decay will depend upon many situation specific issues.
This is an important consideration when developing a consumer-centric marketing strategy. To understand the impact on your programs, develop measurement and analysis components that allow you to test the amount of time that behaviorally targeted messages hold as relevant for your customers. This will allow your team to optimize the program response, and ROI. This could be as easy as creating a report that groups actions based upon the number of days since the targeted behavior occured.
Love to hear your thoughts –
Mark
Visitor Centric Marketing 