Automated marketing is a powerful and profitable tool for businesses. Big and small corporations are using these advanced technological tools to better engage customers. But it is not easy to implement them well and it comes down to the strategic plan on communications between you and your customers. It’s about sketching out the path the conversation will take after every engagement. Customer data can be used to find the optimal times, frequencies, and content for each individual.
Here are 5 simple uses of data for better customer engagement and customer lifetime value.
1. Product Preferences – When one can identify relevant products offered at a time when the shopper is ready to buy, your marketing doubles its effectiveness. It’s an essential strategy to building longer, more profitable relationships.
2. Content Around Preferences – Knowing a person’s interests, one can identify the type of content a person would be interested in. A simple form on a website can serve as an initial filter to capture valuable information. This strategy is successful when the data captured can truly divide clients into meaningful interest buckets.
3. Timing Varies by Customer – Automation is a win-win conversation. Consumers are not inundated with repetitive emails, and businesses grow longer relationships with their customers. Data from online surveys, forms, sales calls, and visits can help you time your offerings better. Knowing how previous customers converted to various services will help you determine the optimal times to communicate with customers.
4. Follow Up! – Not all customers are, or will be, ever engaged. But there are others that simply have been forgotten or are a long way from a purchase. I’m a true believer that a must-have segmentation scheme is recency, and based on this number you can adjust your marketing strategy. This means that “lost” customers should be treated delicately since they are the most likely to never do business with you again.
5. Find Anomalies – Alerts are becoming mainstream. We get them on our phones, ovens, watches, etc. Businesses are increasingly using them in marketing. Whether a customer suddenly stops making purchases or starts spending more, there are specific occasions when a personal touch is needed. Find them and surface them to the right person in the organization.
