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Sorting and Filtering Offers

Sorting offers is a critical element of providing "better" and "best" offers to a customer. If a contact qualifies for multiple offers, the offers can be sorted and filtered based on that contact's Personalization profile attributes. Profile attributes can be taken directly from the static or dynamic profile properties found in Personalization. Siebel Real-Time Marketing can use Siebel Personalization rules to create filter and sort specifications.

Real-time Marketing provides several ways to sort and filter offers:

Using Standard Sort Based on Targeting and Offer Name

By default, the My Offer business component sorts any offers that are part of targeted marketing campaigns at the top of the offer list. Offers that are part of the default campaign appear next. Within each of these groups the offers will be sorted by name using ASCII sorting.

In standard ASCII sorting, numbers take precedence over letters and letters are listed alphabetically. The sort is case sensitive. Upper case letters precede lower case letters.

In Table 40, the standard sort specification will take the unsorted list in the left column and sort the list as shown in the right column:

Table 40. Example of a Standard Sort
Unsorted List of Offers
Sorted List of Offers
Type of Campaign
2000 Model Phone for $300
1000 Minutes for $20
Targeted
2001 Model Phone for $400
2000 Model Phone for $300
Targeted
7000 Minutes for $75
7000 Minutes for $75
Targeted
X3000 Phone for $200
2001 Model Phone for $400
Targeted
1000 Minutes for $20
Offer 1
Targeted
Offer 1
Offer 10
Default
Offer 2
Offer 2
Default
Offer 10
Offer 20
Default
Offer 20
X3000 Phone for $200
Default

Sorting by Offer Metric Fields

Custom Offer sorting can be accomplished in two ways. For a persistent sort customization, you can modify the Sort Specification property for the My Offer business component and recompile the SRF file. For sort specifications that you need for a limited set of campaigns or for situations that require dynamic sorting based on more complex logic, you can use a special profile attribute named MyOfferSortSpec.

You can establish a sort specification using the My Offer business component for offer fields such as Inbound Priority (the offer's importance to you) and Margin (the offer's advantage or profitability rating for you). These two fields exist specifically for sorting. For example, if you want to use Inbound Priority or Margin as a way to sort offers, you need to identify the meaning of the each value (high, medium, low, and so on) that you will apply to each offer. Table 41 contains an example of an uncomplicated matrix for Inbound Priority values.

This sample strategy allows the marketer to constantly prioritize new offers based on past offers. As new offers are created and old offers expire, the list of available offers for customers changes.

Table 41. Inbound Priority Value Matrix
Inbound Priority Value
Offers
Meaning
Very High
New Product bundles
New product bundles take priority over other product types.
High
Popular Products
Any time the offer is for a top 10 product, it will receive a high priority.
Medium
Products with Excess Inventory
Products will excess inventory should be displayed to try and sell them.
Low
Standard Low Margin Products
Products with lower margins may be desirable to customers, but less important to the company than those with higher margins.
Very Low
Standard Volume Discount Pricing
Standard volume discount offers such as Buy 5 and Get 10% Off have the lowest priority.

You can add an inbound priority and a margin value to each offer that you create. When you receive responses to the offer, you can sort them by that value. Table 42 shows a sample offer list sorted by Inbound Priority.

Table 42. Sample Sort by Inbound Priority
Offer Name
Inbound Priority
7000 Minutes for $75
Very High
2001 Model Phone for $400
High
2000 Model Phone for $300
Medium
X3000 Phone for $200
Medium
1000 Minutes for $20
Low

Table 43 shows the result of sorting the same sample list by the offer's Inbound Priority and then by Margin.

NOTE:  The sequence of the two offers with a medium priority changed because one has a margin value of Medium and one has a margin value of Low.

Table 43. Sample Sort by Inbound Priority and Margin
Offer Name
Inbound Priority
Margin
7000 Minutes for $75
Very High
High
2001 Model Phone for $400
High
High
X3000 Phone for $200
Medium
Medium
2000 Model Phone for $300
Medium
Low
1000 Minutes for $20
Low
Low

Sorting an Offer List Dynamically Using Profile Information

Sorting based on real-time information is sometimes called dynamic sorting because the sort can change immediately upon completion of an action or activity. A dynamic sort specification is set as a dynamic profile property for a contact and overrides the default sort specs that were established in the business component definition in Siebel Tools.

Dynamic sort specifications for an offer applet can be setup in Siebel Personalization. It is invoked when you associate the applet that contains the content with a personalization rule set that contains a rule that sets the dynamic sort profile attribute.

The MyOfferSortSpec attribute can be set using a special business service method name RTM - Scores from Decision Broker.SetDynamicSortSpec. The most common way to execute this business service method is to define a personalization rule that is associated with the appropriate My Offer-based applet. For more information about creating Personalization Rules, see the sections about creating rule sets and rules in Personalization Administration Guide.

To create personalization rules to establish sort specifications

  1. From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > Personalization Administration > Rule Sets.
  2. In the Rule Sets list, create a new record.
  3. Type a name for the rule set in the Name field and select the Active check box.
  4. In the Rules list, create a new record.
  5. In the new record complete the fields using information in Table 44.

    6. Table 44. Rules Fields for Sort Specifications
    Field Name
    Description
    Active
    TRUE
    Business Service Context
    The sort specification to apply based on your requirements, for example:
    • Valid End Date (DESC)
    • Margin, Name
    • Offer Score (DESC), Margin, Name
    Business Service Method
    SetDynamicSortSpec
    Business Service Name
    RTM - Scores from Decision Broker
    Conditional Expression
    Based on your requirements.
    To apply the sort specification to all users, leave this property blank. To apply to certain users conditionally, type a suitable logic expression using profile attributes. Multiple sort rules can be created for complex sort rules. See the following sample expression:
    GetProfileAttrAsNum('Customer Value') >= 50 AND GetProfileAttrAsNum('Churn Possibility') >= 70
    Rule Type
    Business Service. For more information, see Personalization Administration Guide.
    Sequence
    Each rule should be assigned a number that establishes its order in the rule set. Each rule will be executed in sequence.

To create a rule set and associate it with an applet

  1. From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > Personalization Administration > Applets.
  2. In the Applets list, create a new record.
    1. Click the Name select button and select the applet you wish to associate with the rule set.
    2. Click the Conditional Expression select button.
    3. In the Expression Designer, create the expression you wish to use.
  3. Scroll down to the Rule Sets list and, in the Rule Sets list, create a new record.
    1. Click the Name select button and select the rule set you wish to associate with the applet.
    2. In the Sequence field, type 1.

      3. Each rule should be assigned a number that establishes the rule set's order. Each rule set will be executed in sequence.

    3. Click the Conditional Expression select button.
    4. In the Expression Designer, create the expression you wish to use.

Filtering an Offer List Dynamically Using Profile Information

Real-Time Offers can be filtered to return an offers list based on customer profile information. The marketer may want to limit the types of offers displayed. A Personalization Rule can be set to include or exclude offers that have only specified attributes such as the following:

To create an offer filter rule set

  1. From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > Personalization Administration > Rule Set.
  2. In the Rule Sets list, select a rule set and scroll down to the Rules list.
  3. In the Rules list, create a new Rule and scroll down to the More Info form.
  4. In the More Info form, define the rules for the filter using information in Table 45.

    5. Table 45. Rules Fields for Filter Specifications
    Field Name
    Description
    Active
    TRUE
    Conditional Expression
    Based on your requirements. To apply this filter specification to all users, leave this property blank.
    To apply to certain users conditionally, type a suitable logic expression using profile attributes.
    Multiple filter rules can be created for complex filtering
    Example:
    GetProfileAttr(`Is Anonymous') <> 'TRUE' AND
    GetProfileAttrAsNum(`Income') >= 50000
    Include Expression
    Based on your requirements. Offer property criteria to include in list if the Rule conditional expression is true.
    Example:
    [Margin] <= LookupValue("OFFER_MARGIN", "3 - Medium")
    Example:
    [Valid Start Date] < (Today() - 30)
    Exclude Expression
    Based on your requirements. Offer property criteria to exclude from the list if the Rule conditional expression is true.
    Example:
    [Inbound Priority] >= LookupValue("OFFER_PRIORITY", "4 - Low")
    Rule Type
    Expression
    Sequence
    Each rule should be assigned a number that establishes its order in the rule set. Each rule will be executed in sequence.


 Siebel Marketing Guide, Version 7.5, Rev. A 
 Published: 18 April 2003