Big data has become a huge aspect of modern commerce. More companies are relying on it than ever. The portion of companies using big data increased from 17% in 2015 to 53% in 2017. It will increase exponentially from here on out.
There are a lot of ways that big data can be valuable to businesses. One of the biggest benefits is through optimizing your marketing strategy to existing customers to improve customer retention.
When it comes to making strategic decisions as a marketer, data and numbers are crucial. Looking at data can show you where to focus your efforts and help you achieve the very best results. One of the most important sources of data comes from the very thing that a business wants to attract: customers. Customer data can help boost sales, improve customer service and grow brand awareness. Having customer data is one thing but knowing how to effectively leverage it is another entirely. Here are some of the best ways to leverage your customer data in 2021.
Use Customer Data to Improve Retention
One of the most important things that customer data can do for your business is improve customer retention. First, you need to understand what is customer retention? Once you are clear on what retaining customers really means, you can get started using your customer data to boost it. Building long-lasting, high quality relationships with clients requires you to properly understand your customers. Customer data gives you valuable insights into your market and what influences them.
Customer data can be used to decide which customers you should focus on retaining, and which are less valuable. You can use the information you have on your clients to determine which are the most important to your business. Look at their buying preferences, frequency and value. Customer Lifetime Value or CLV is a vital metric to look at when it comes to customer retention. You can use this data to determine which customers are most valuable to your business and focus on keeping them as your customers.
When you focus on improving your customer retention, you will be maximizing your bottom line and boosting revenue. It is five times cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. The more you know about these existing customers, and the more you use their data in your marketing strategies, the more likely they will be to come back time and time again.
Enhance Customer Service with Data
Your customer service team can benefit from using customer data, because the more you know about your clients, the better service your team can give them. With 96% of customers saying that service is important when choosing which brands to remain loyal to, it’s clear to see why it should be a priority for every business. When you start using your customer data as part of your customer service strategy, you can become more proactive. The majority of customer service teams will respond to a customer query or resolve an issue when it comes in. This reactive approach is no longer the best way to handle your customer service efforts.
Customer data can be used to help analyze and understand consumer behavior, helping you take a more proactive approach. You can also observe customer trends with big data. For example, a software business may notice that new customers contact them one week after coming on board to ask about setting up user accounts. This company can then set up an automated email campaign which gives all new customers this information, without them having to ask for it. A proactive approach that uses customer data will show clients that your business is in tune with their needs.
Customer data isn’t just great for introducing proactive customer support. It can also help your customer service team to better support your customers when they do get in touch. The more information a support agent has about the customer they are speaking to, the better they will be able to handle the query. Giving customer service teams access to customer data can eliminate a lot of the questions they have and help them get to work with the issue at hand.
Personalize Your Customer Journey
When you have comprehensive customer data in the form of profiles, you can begin to use these to personalize the customer journey. Collecting data at every touch point can help you to build a complete picture of who your customers are. Look at email clicks, website browsing history, mobile interactions and in-store campaigns to build complete customer profiles. Customer profiling is essential for creating a personalized journey for your audience.
Using these customer profiles to personalize the journey for customers is an excellent way of boosting sales and revenue. Incorporate automated social adverts, product recommendations and dynamic content based on your customer data. By doing this, you will be creating and sharing content which is relevant and engaging to your customers. Encouraging customers to click, engage and ultimately convert, will help to build your loyal customer base.
The more robust your customer profiling is, and the more data you can gather, the better your campaigns will perform. From driving new business to retaining existing customers, customer data is crucial to your success in 2021.
