“CleverTap Engage,” a new video interview series featuring the globe’s most respected CEOs and executives, released a powerful and insightful interview with Sheri Bachstein, CEO of The Weather Company, an IBM Business, and GM of IBM Watson Advertising, which discusses re-engineering customer engagement and predicting user behavior to help products be engaging and valuable.

Co-hosted by Peggy Anne Salz, a top 30 mobile marketing influencer, veteran Forbes writer, nine-time author, influencer, chief analyst, and founder of MobileGroove, and John Koetsier, future forecaster, analyst, mobile expert, and senior Forbes writer, the series’ second episode highlights Bachstein’s instrumental role in leading The Weather Company’s pivot during the pandemic. Under her leadership, the company now offers a paid subscription plan for its The Weather Channel digital properties, alongside the long-standing advertising-supported plan, which both diversifies revenue and can align with varying customer behaviors.

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“Bachstein and The Weather Company are doing what so many other business leaders and companies must do during the pandemic — pivot their marketing and services to keep their customers engaged and retained,” said Dave Dabbah, CMO of CleverTap. “Here at CleverTap, this type of flexibility and dedication to the customer is our platform’s cornerstone, and we strive to help marketers provide customized value to the consumer to ensure continued success. Hearing the real-life account of The Weather Company’s foray into supercharging engagement is a worthwhile listen for business leaders looking to do the same and a testament to the power of strategies rooted in retention and engagement.”

Salz and Koetsier hear from Bachstein on how The Weather Channel gives consumers choices to provide a continued value exchange. For instance, if a customer that doesn’t want to pay a subscription fee chooses the advertising option, advertisements are targeted – with a user’s permission — based on data to create a better, more appealing experience.

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“I enjoyed speaking with Salz and Koetsier in CleverTap Engage’s second episode to have an important conversation about how businesses can adapt to today’s changing world,” said Bachstein. “The discussion digs deep into how we were able to keep the consumer front and center at The Weather Channel, and I believe the insights will prove useful for any business leader looking to do the same.”

The Weather Company (which includes digital properties of The Weather Channel and Weather Underground) reaches more than 400 million users every month globally via its platforms, and more than 2.5 billion devices globally via strategic partnerships with some of the largest OEMs and technology companies in the world. While only a small percentage of those users are subscribers, the new model has been very beneficial from a business and user retention perspective.

“The Weather Company’s wildly successful pivot to paid, chalking up nearly one million subscribers since launching a premium offering last year, shows how customizing every aspect of the experience, down to the pricing, can help pay impressive dividends and drive lasting loyalty,” Salz says. “But winning and keeping paying customers demands fresh ideas and frameworks, which is why our video podcast collaboration with CleverTap, a company shaping retention marketing, will be a destination for both.”.