Have you ever stopped to think about how much information your company has gathered about your customers and the market in general over the years? And have you ever stopped to think about what you are actually doing with all of that?
The one thing about data is that it’s not that difficult to gather it. Think about every interaction you have with a customer. You get to know vital information about them. The hard thing is to turn that information into something useful, which we call insight. A useful insight is one that you can take action on.
The other thing about data is that you can’t wait too long to do something with it. The longer you wait, the older it gets and, consequently, the less useful it is. Brands need to act fast. The market changes too much and too often to sit and wait. As former chairman and CEO of General Electric once said: “An organization’s ability to learn from their data, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”
I can hear you asking these questions in your head, so here are some potential answers:
1. What do I actually need to know/keep?
The answer here is: whatever matters to your customers. If it matters to them, it should matter to you. And here I’m talking about products they purchase more often than others (think Tesco Club cards, that ‘magically’ know what you like and send you coupons for those exact things), their personal details (so you can tailor any marketing efforts), and their general history as a follower of your brand.
2. How do I get it all together?
This is probably where most people find managing data extremely difficult. Many companies run different systems for different departments, which makes combining all the data gathered a mammoth task. You are going to need people. You are going to need skill. You are going to need, yes, you guessed it: time. Lots of it. But don’t be scared. The benefits are well worth the effort.
3. What do I need to have in place?
You can start by looking at your data once a month, if you don’t have the time to concentrate on it any more than that. Reserve half a day at the end of the month and purely update what you can. Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse. Old data is not helpful. Ideally, though, you would make data management a big part of your business efforts Remember as well that the systems you put in place will start kicking in and will bring rewards, which should motivate you to carry on.
4. Who can do the job?
Anyone who has a bit of common sense, knows about the company’s goals and objectives and can work on excel. This is to start with, of course. There are many advanced programs out there that can be purchased for data management specifically. However, what I’m trying to say here is that there is no reason why you shouldn’t start looking at your data if you can’t start big. Even if you start small, start! That’s what matters.
5. What do I do with it?
Analyse it. Try, for example, to find out:
a) Who are your customers?
b) Who are your most profitable customers?
c) What do they buy?
d) What do they need?
e) What motivates them to buy?
f) What motivates them to buy from you? (Did they respond well to a particular marketing effort that you tried in the past? Do they like offers? Are they loyal to your brand?)
Then get some insights together and pass the information on to relevant people in the business, such as sales, marketing and leadership teams. They will then work on targeted retention strategies, cross-selling and/or up-selling programs. They can even find, from your new insights, that there is a niche market waiting to be targeted around the corner.
If there is one thing you should be doing in 2014, it is to do your best to understand your customers from the gold mine you already have in your power: the details they give to you by simply being your customer. And then, align your various business strategies to target these customers by speaking to them in the way they want to be spoken to.
Believe me, you won’t regret it.
Marilia Spindler is an Account Manager and creative thinker at Happy Creative, a strategic marketing and branding agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
