How Should You Be Putting Your Customer Data To Use?
Many companies are constantly collecting data on customers. However, this data doesn’t always get put to good use. In the last 20 years, software has made it easier to compile and analyze data, which has increased the possibilities of what can be done with it. Below are just some of the key ways in which you can utilize your customer data in order to improve your business.
Identifying demand
When it comes to product-based businesses, customer data can tell you exactly which products are popular - and at which periods they sell the most. This can be important when it comes to ordering the right amount of stock at the right times. It can also help you to identify potential products areas to focus on so that you can tap into the demand that is already there. You can also give products that aren’t selling so well a push in sales by identifying low sales periods and offering discounts.
When it comes to service-based industries, you can also identify months when customers may be more likely to sign up. When it comes to subscriptions, you may also be able to identify months when customers are most likely to cancel, so that you can strategically run marketing campaigns in the lead up to these months in order to inspire loyalty.
Personalizing your marketing
Customer data can also be used to personalize marketing to each individual customer. By tracking the consumer habits of each customer you can recommend products based on their purchases or advertise deals on days when they’re most likely to use your service. You can also send deals to previously active customers who may not have bought any products for a while in order to win them back. This is typically done by signing customers up to mailing lists and tracking online and in-store purchases. You can then segment these mailing lists and automate emails to send out based on certain behaviors.
There may be other types of customer information that you can use to help create personalized promotions. For example, many customers send out discounts or gifts to customers on their birthday
Improving customer service
You can also use customer data to improve customer service. By asking customers to review their experience, you can work out what your employees are doing well and what they’re doing not so well. This is sometimes done via automated star rating emails or feedback forms. This allows you to fine-tune your employee training.
Keeping it secure, ethical and legal
While there are many useful ways to use data, it’s important that you collect and use this data in a way that is secure, ethical and legal. From GDPR regulations to HIPAA compliance, there are many laws that dictate how data should be used - a tech consulting company could be worth using to help you understand these laws better so that you can implement data management in the correct way. In most cases, it all comes down to asking customers for consent before storing and using data, as well as making sure that this data does not fall into the wrong hands.
The takeaway
Data can help you to identify demand, personalize your marketing and improve customer service. However, this should always be done with the consent of your customers, while also making sure that data is kept secure to prevent it being misused.
