Twilio Expands Marketing Capabilities with New Tool | Twilio Acquisition

Twilio Launches Omni-Channel Marketing Tool, Twilio Engage

Following its acquisition of Segment last year for $3.2 billion, Twilio has unveiled a new omni-channel marketing solution. This new tool, known as Twilio Engage, is constructed utilizing the capabilities of Segment.

Leveraging the Twilio Product Family

According to Segment CEO Peter Reinhardt, the newly launched tool is designed to integrate seamlessly with various components of the Twilio product suite. This includes Segment itself, to establish a novel cloud marketing technology platform.

“Twilio Engage represents a brand new growth automation platform,” Reinhardt stated. “It’s built natively on Segment as the customer data platform (CDP) and natively on Twilio’s communications APIs.” The primary objective of this application is to empower marketers with a deeper understanding of their customer base and facilitate the delivery of more personalized messaging.

Journey Orchestration and Customized Messaging

The tool begins by harnessing Segment’s capabilities to collect customer information from over 50 different data sources.

A key element driving this functionality is a new journey orchestration component. This allows marketers to define specific workflows tailored to different customer segments.

Marketers can then craft and distribute customized messages across various communication channels, including email and SMS, utilizing Twilio’s core communications APIs. Integration with a range of external tools is also supported.

Campaign Automation and Triggered Communications

These communication components can be delivered as personalized text messages, emails, or advertisements. Delivery is triggered when specific conditions are met within the defined journey workflow.

“An entire campaign, from start to finish – encompassing all content, audience creation, and targeting – can now be managed entirely within Twilio Engage,” Reinhardt explained.

Real-World Application: Sneaker Company Example

Consider a sneaker company with a dedicated running application. Using Twilio Engage, they could implement a campaign that activates when a user reaches a milestone of 100 miles logged within the app.

This achievement could initiate an SMS text message offering congratulations, powered by Twilio’s Communications API.

For existing customers, the system could automatically dispatch an email acknowledging the milestone and including a 20% discount coupon.

Conversely, for new users, the company could re-engage them across platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Google, presenting a similar offer and message.

Industry Analyst Perspective

Daniel Newman, founder and principal analyst at Futurum Research, notes that while a full-scale entry into martech is recent, Twilio already possessed a foundation in this area through its CDP and messaging platform.

He believes the company can successfully capitalize on its developer community to drive adoption of this expanded offering.

“The CDP and martech landscapes are intensely competitive, but I am confident that Twilio, along with its dedicated developer community, will find value in the company’s broadened capabilities,” Newman said. “The ongoing pursuit of a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey remains a complex, yet increasingly attainable goal for marketers and revenue leaders.”

Expanding Beyond Core Communications

It’s evident that Twilio aims to broaden its platform and revenue streams beyond its foundational communications APIs.

Reinhardt shared that discussions with customers and an analysis of how both Twilio’s messaging APIs and Segment’s data were being utilized revealed a clear trend.

“Marketing emerged as the predominant use case on both sides, and we recognized the potential to significantly enhance and streamline this process,” he stated. This realization led to the development of Twilio Engage.

Availability

The tool is currently entering a pilot phase with select customers and is anticipated to be generally available during the first half of the coming year.