The Prize of the German Market Research Industry Association

Munich, 13.06.2015 - b.telligent's Simon Nehls was honored as young researcher of the year. The 29-year-old was awarded for his master thesis regarding the topic "Modelling the Heterogeneity of Markov Chains applied to Consumer Behavior on the Internet" by the German Market Research Industry Association. This model enables businesses to better understand and thus explain customer behavior - so to speak, they obtain a 360 degree view. In addition, the so-called customer journey in the e-commerce area can be tracked much better than before and businesses thus receive more detailed insights into the customer's decision processes. The model was based on data science methods which are used and further refined by b.telligent.

Awarded for the Better Tracking of Customer Journeys in the E-Commerce Area

The objective of the awarded master thesis was to have a closer look at the information search behavior on the internet and to show the underlying structures. The focus is on understanding the surfing behavior and illustrating the transition between various websites. After a comprehensive data preparation, a Markov chain is modelled which is enriched by both product- and individual-specific covariates. In addition to the mentioned characteristics, researches on customers who finally bought a product offline are included in the modelling.

The Prize of the German Market Research Industry Association 2015

The prize of the German Market Research Industry Association honors young scientists for outstanding empirical research projects and wants to encourage the discussion between universities and the practical application in institutes and businesses. Thus, performances are sought which particularly show a successful synthesis of sophisticated methods and a high level of practical relevance. This prize is awarded together with the VMÖ, the Austrian industry association of market researchers

"We share Simon Nehls' joy about his award as young researcher of the year. As data science consultant with b.telligent, he can directly implement the theories of his master thesis into practice", explains Sebastian Amtage, b.telligent co-founder and managing director. "Such market-leading studies also support us in the practice and are pointing the way - in addition, they underline that we offer talents appropriate possibilities to put their theories into practice." 

Simon Nehls, the researcher of 2015!