Decoding client preferences

These days when companies want to understand consumers’ preferences and needs, they acquire powerful tools developed by startups to upgrade their marketing strategies and increase their revenues. One such startup is New York-based ActionIQ, founded by Tasso Argyros.

“Our software has attracted the interest of multinational giants in sectors such as financial services, retail commerce, media and advertising, technology etc,” Argyros, also the chief executive of ActionIQ, tells Kathimerini, adding that his startup’s clients include The New York Times, Νews Corp, Condé Nast, Morgan Stanley, Michael Kors, American Eagle, Shopify and many more.

The company’s long list of clients justifies the funds that international investors have placed from time to time, led by Sequoia Capital, the US fund that manages some $8 billion, and its peer Andreessen Horowitz, which manages $12 billion.

Argyros says it was a great success getting those two major rivals to invest in the same company: “In August last year we raised an additional $40 million from international investors, while the total funds we have raised since the company was founded in 2015 reach $75 million,” he notes.

So what is it that the market and investors have seen in ActionIQ’s software? “As companies enter the omnichannel era, their interactions with consumers become more complex as they visit both physical and online stores. At the same time the means for sending promotional messages have multiplied. Therefore one of the main challenges companies have is to integrate data on consumer behavior or preferences,” notes the Greek entrepreneur.

“On a second level, companies need to utilize the data so as to create a profile for each customer, implementing promotional activity that will be personalized,” adds Argyros.

ActionIQ undertakes this work, as the sale of its software allows companies to source data from multiple systems (IT systems at physical stores, call centers, or digital applications such as websites). “A retail chain may have an e-shop and a physical store, with 40 or 50 data sources, so it requires big data integration,” says Argyros.

Tasso Argyros’ New York-based startup ActionIQ has created a software for major companies allowing them to source data from multiple channels, such as information technology systems at physical stores, call centers, or digital applications such as websites and e-shops.