The Immense Value in Asking your Customers for their Data

The Immense Value in Asking your Customers for their Data The more information you have about your customers, the more successful you will be at growing your client base. Remember, if you’re not sure about how to market to new customers, look to your existing buyers for answers.

 Assembling as much data as possible about your customers is key for several reasons. First and foremost, it allows one to personalize communications and market specifically to the customer. Studies have shown personalization in marketing to increase loyalty among existing customers and provide a higher chance of obtaining new customers. This is why meeting and getting to know customers is a high priority for so many businesses.

 Just as important as getting to know the backgrounds of your customers, it’s equally important to know what data is most significant. Don’t pursue invading questions about customers’ personal lives or participate in shady behaviour to obtain customer info. There’s many data sets already available to small businesses that they may not yet be tapping into. For example, purchase history is key. By knowing what customers have bought in the past, you may be able to pinpoint what they are most likely to buy in the future. By knowing a customers’ name, this can help personalize email communications to them. These two bullet points have the potential to increase the value of a customer to your business and, in turn, increase revenues.

 Consumers have been conditioned to handing over certain information about themselves and some are more than willing. For example, according to a recent study, more than 32 percent of users are willing to share their social media handles, 36 percent are willing to share their GPS location, and more than 38 percent are willing to provide a phone number under the condition that it will be used to receive text messages. Through these three pieces of information alone, a business has a number of personalization opportunities it can take advantage of – and to acquire this information, all a company has to do is ask.

 Always ask and don’t be secretive about collecting customers’ information. Many brands even go so far as to provide users with surveys to fill out, offering special promotions in return of providing their opinion. This might be a technique worth considering. Next time you visit your local grocery store or fast food restaurant, examine their survey strategy. Many times, they will offer a free menu item, a free gift card, or offer to put your name into a draw for a prepaid credit card. Provide value to the customer, in return for their time and effort in filling out a survey. Accumulating this information, you can better engage customers by using their name, making relevant product recommendations, and ultimately you make them a happier customer.

 Customer data, from a marketer’s perspective, can be used again and again to provide value. Customer data pays for itself again and again, and the more you have, the more effective your marketing can be. Remember to leverage this information to create different marketing personas to be used to provide more relevant messaging to different demographics. Studies have shown that through the use of different marketing personas, one can create advertisements as much as five times more effective. Personalized, relevant messaging is what it comes down to. Be sure to keep all of this in mind when considering the impact of customer data and what you can do with it.