Chris Mair, co-founder of DADI+, explains how to employ real time data to build a relationship with your customer
Data is a powerful business tool that, when used correctly, can be marketers’ biggest asset. As big data becomes an increasingly important part of successful marketing, many businesses find themselves overwhelmed, resulting in a hesitance to fully employ the data on offer, thus forgoing an incredible opportunity.
In short, data enables marketers to connect with customers in more meaningful ways than previously possible, and this is something to be really excited about, not daunted by. To make the most of large volumes of user data, we live by these three fundamental rules which any marketer should place at the heart of their strategy when dealing with data.
1. Be transparent
With concern about privacy in a data driven world on the rise, transparency is increasingly important. When data is leaked, catastrophe ensues – the recent Ashley Madison hack (and many others) are testament to this.
Hesitance around data does not solely belong in the domain of marketers, advertisers and businesses; customers are also daunted by the prospect of big data, for different reasons. Ambiguity regarding the use of customer data leaves visitors to sites asking questions like; who is accessing my data? What is it being used for? How much do they know? Why do they need it?
When visiting a site for the first time, customers are generally required to consent to cookie use, a constant reminder that everything they do is being tracked, which often leads to a feeling of unease. Create a sense of anxiety for customers, and they are unlikely to return to your site or respond to marketing material. Being honest and telling your customer in plainest terms about data use is imperative. Trust is central to the functioning and flourishing of the marketer/customer relationship in the online space.
Be transparent by saying to customers upfront why you are using their data; to ensure you provide them with content they want, saving them from searching and filtering, both of which take time. Another important step to take to guarantee transparency-thus-reassurance is making privacy controls easily available. This allows them to control information flow from you to them, not the other way around, and in fact provides further valuable insight into individual customers, which is what big data is all about. When serving customers tailored content, ask the question; do you want more content like this? It puts the ball in their court and encourages a sense of security for customers.
2. Think people, not users
Big data essentially refers to multiple sets of data that are larger and more multifaceted than what has previously been made available to marketers.
Unlocking the right data allows you to engage with your customers in a more significant way than ever before. You need to move away from a one-size fits all, homepage-led website, to an individually tailored experience that responds directly to an individual’s specific circumstances, regardless of their point of entry.
It’s not enough to think of customers any more, you must understand your customers as individuals, as people. Individual identity is a complicated, ever-evolving thing, and although they may seem knowable at first glance – leading many organisations to group individuals to a fancily-titled box – they break apart with further inspection.
The relationship you have with your customers should offer the right level of intimacy for the known identity of the individual. Knowing too little will result in wasted effort and misguided messages; knowing too much risks alienation.
Establishing the right approach to data collection and use requires individual understanding off the back of customer engagement. Rather than active interrogation, the best model to understand the people using your site is passive observation. See how they engage with your product and content, and act accordingly; do not mine their complete data set.
3. Personalisation
Having implemented transparency and ensured customers are comfortable with tailored content being served, a surprising number of people become open to the concept of personalised content – 78 per cent according to polling by Ipsos MediaCT – including advertising. This willingness among your customers opens a new door that allows you to proactively serve the right content to the right person.
Website homepages are generally comparable to magazines – there is one homepage that acts as the magazine cover, the same one is displayed to everyone, no matter who they are. Often people do judge a book by its cover, and if this isn’t appealing on a personal level, they are unlikely to delve further into the magazine’s website. Imagine if magazine covers changed and adapted depending on who picked it up? This is what data allows you to do; personalise content and tailor every interaction people have with your site to them specifically.
Personalising content gives you the ability to meet your customers’ needs and desires. Blend your content with customer data, and you are effectively handing visitors exactly what they want on a plate. In doing this, you will drive customer satisfaction, increase the chance of repeat visits and business, and creative positive word of mouth.
