IBM Buys Customer Behavior Specialist Tealeaf

IBM has paid an undisclosed sum for customer behavior analyst Tealeaf Technology, an expert in the study of buying experiences across online and mobile devices.

Tealeaf's suite of CX products and solutions captures customers' web site interactions in real-time, to provide a view of the online customer experience of every page across all site visits. The firm records both quant and qual details of every interaction, for use in optimizing the customer experience.

At the end of last year, the San Francisco-based company bought web site optimization specialist Overstat, whose software highlights which areas of web sites draw most interest from online visitors.

According to Craig Hayman (pictured), General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM, the Tealeaf buy will provide clients with the information needed to improve customer support and site usability, and tailor marketing campaigns to increase online conversion rates. He comments: 'With these new capabilities from Tealeaf, we can not only provide marketing leaders the qualitative insights into how customers actually experience their brands, but show them how to react in real-time across marketing, sales and service.'

Tealeaf will be integrated into IBM's Enterprise Marketing and Management (EMM) Group, which includes previously acquired assets from Coremetrics, Unica and DemandTec. IBM has invested more than $3 billion in building its Smarter Commerce initiative, which it describes as a key driver of growth and profitability.

The latest acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

Web sites: www.ibm.com and www.tealeaf.com .