This Startup Will Revolutionise Email By Making Them Dynamic And Contextual

With the growth of multiple well-funded online players in India, the increased competition has resulted into an increased customer acquisition cost. Marketers are adopting different low cost marketing channels to lure customers and increase their conversion ratio.

While social media and website blogs are the most popular ones, many are also returning to email marketing but with a different concept. According to Octane Research, most marketers have begun to realize the importance of email marketing with a larger emphasis on campaign performance and it’s contribution to the revenue & other campaign goals, than cheap rates.

One such startup is Delhi-based Wigzo, utilizing contextual marketing based on SoLoMo – Social, Location and Mobile, to provide real time content in the emails for marketers. An Email,  that changes based on Subscribers context of Device, Location, Time, and Weather, after they have been sent out. Also Using their Prediction Technology, and Algorithmic Merchandising they can auto populate your emails with content that a user have browsed, things he might like, and things he is most likely to purchase, thus personalising each communication based on the most recent Web or App behaviour of the user in Real Time.

They are also working on syncing first party data with cookie sync to improve user profiles, even with data that’s not being captured. The Idea is to convert all this Big Data into Actionable Insights. This concept is better than bulk mailing or behavioral targeting as it can change emails based on time of open, recipient’s current location, social cues, fast-moving inventory, User Search patterns, and App browsing activity.

The startup was incepted in year 2013 by Umair Mohammed along with three co-founders, viz. Himanshu Kaushik, Shamail tayyab and Vikrant Khushu. The portal is trying to solve a major issue of Seamless data management, and utilising it to send intelligent communication across web, and In APP.

As per Himanshu, each mechanism of user tracking works as a separate silo, theres not a lot of talkback in terms of data, and that itself, is a major challenge because Prediction engine is saying one thing, brands email says another and then their Facebook ads say something different.

It provides marketers with many unique features such as:

• a SaaS platform for contextual rule engine: It can pull content directly from the website like Product Feed and can provide live social feeds from twitter, facebook, etc.
• Automated live content: Pull live content from the website & API/Feeds based on App or website Behaviors or Rules or Triggers.
• Algorithmic Merchandising: Algorithmically auto populate up selling, cross selling, merchandize with our prediction engine.
• Prediction Engine: Ability for brands to Build their own prediction templates, and Cross seel, Up Sell better.

• interactive content: Put Video/Gifs/Vines along with a real time countdown timer in emails
• geo location: send location based offers in real time

“Wigzo is tying User behaviour across platforms to One single place what we call them contextual profiles. From Website, to App, we track a User Behaviour across platform, not only that we Improve the Brand’s communication with its audience based on user intent, and User Behaviour. And through our algorithmic data-processing we make each communication smarter than the previous one,” said Himanshu.

Apart from these, it also allows clients to retarget Non engaged users on other social media, and other Demand Side Platforms. In depth analytics for email, like Dwell time on email, Forwards, Prints, Browser, OS, Engagement metrics, and Heat Maps, Real time Product update, and Ability to see how email would look like in subscriber’s Inbox. etc. are other services offered to the clients.

The service works on top of marketer’s existing email service provider, currently more than 40, without shifting lists or sharing data. Also, dynamic tags can be used on existing servers to have real time content without switching ESP’s.

Founders claim to be the only company in APAC doing this. However, globally they compete with Jetlore in US,  MovableInk in US, and Kickdynamic in UK. With already 30 clients on board, doing 5 Mn contextual emails per day, they are working in a $6.5 Bn industry worldwide, growing at a 24% CAGR. The revenue is earned by charging clients on the basis of CPM or cost per thousand Impressions/Opens.

Technical Aspects

The Wigzo platform works on a three layer basis viz. Big data segmentation, Campaign management and Data reporting. The segmentation engine leverages insight into the user data, understand the user base and Subscribers, and engage them when clients have to. The reports can be seen campaign vise. Also, data reporting is done with OLAP (online analytical processing), thereby enabling a client to easily and selectively extract and view data from different points-of-view and take decisions accordingly. Technologies used are Python for backend, and Javascript and SDK for tracking and Machine Learning Process and Dynamic algorithms which are custom.

Funding and Plans Ahead

The startup has raised an undisclosed angel funding from Nikunj Jain, Niraj Singh and Ritesh Malik last year. When asked about the future plans, Umair said, “We are already in process of setting up shop in Middle East, and will start operation in UK by the end of the year. We are targeting 100 million impressions monthly by the end of the year.”

Editor’s take

As per facts, for Retail & ecommerce and travel sector the primary emarketing activity is ‘Email Marketing’. However, 51% believe that reaching targeted audience is biggest email marketing challenge. There lies a need for increasing conversion ratio and thus, a huge opportunity for startups like Wigzo.