How well do you know your customers? Do you know who they are? How they make purchases? Where they spend the most time online?
These are all important questions that you can answer by analyzing your customer data. Why do you need to pay attention about your customer data? As the saying goes, if you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one. Basically, if you’re unclear about who exactly our audience is and how they interact with your business, your business will never be able to grow.
Now that you understand why your customer data is so important, you need to create a strong strategy for acquiring accurate customer data
Tip 1: Use Analytic Tools
Analytic tools are designed to show you how your customers are interacting with your website. Well known analytic tools like Google Analytics help you understand where your customers are coming from (location, demographics) as well as their referral source. These are valuable insights that show you were to spend your marketing efforts.
Google Analytics isn’t your only analytics option. Loggly provides Windows event logs which is helpful for complex applications that rely on uptime. These types of analytics should form the backbone of your customer data strategy.
Tip 2: Social Media
While you should dedicate time in your strategy to analyzing your website data through tools like Google Analytics, you’ll also want to think beyond traditional website analytics. If you’re using social media to interact with your audience, there are a variety of built-in analytics that show the best time to post effectively, who is interacting with your posts, and how customers are finding your social page.
To access the most analytical tools and make the most of your social accounts, convert them to business accounts or profiles when possible. Business accounts are available on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram, and they help you understand your audience in a clear way. By learning more about your audience on social media, you can create posts and content that targets them more clearly.
Tip 3: Customer Surveys
One of the best ways to get customer data is to simply ask for it! Surveys are an effective way to get specific questions answered and to receive clear feedback from people already using your products or services. You can offer exit surveys to customers who had a bad experience to see how you can improve in the future. On the other hand, offering incentives for your best customers who fill out surveys is a great way to learn more about what is working for your business currently.
Be creative with your surveys! You can offer them through email or directly on your website. Just ensure you have a clear way of reviewing your surveys and actually making cohesive sense of the data so it doesn’t go to waste.
Tip 4: Industry Research
A little research goes a long way when it comes to your audience. It’s unlikely you’re tapping into a new, never before researched audience, so the information you’re looking for likely already exists. By doing research on your target demographic, you can learn more about what interests them and what marketing strategies they respond to the most. Failing to keep up with market changes and research trends will keep you falling behind the competition!
Tip 5: Look at Competitors
While it’s important to establish yourself as unique from your competitors, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn a few things from them. Who are they attracting with their marketing? How are they getting this attention, and how well is it working? If you’re trying to attract the same group of people, how can you take this a step further to create something more effective? Looking at your competitors gives you insight into the success of your own strategies.
Are you currently taking advantage of customer data? As a business in 2018, customer data is your biggest asset. Take advantage of the information you already have and begin actively looking for greater insight! The more you understand your customers, the better you’re able to serve them!
