Welcome to the third and final part in our series about data and its use in effective marketing and communications.
So where do we get the data we need to personalize our communications with our customers? Well, there are a lot of places we can get data. Some of it is great and helps us to better serve our customers, and other data leads to wasteful spending and spam. The real question is how do we get GOOD data? How do we get data that helps us understand our customers and their needs?
In the previous part of this series, we discussed using data we already have. We (should) have data about every customer. Aside from name, address and email, we should also know about their buying habits. What do they order? How often do they order? Within what time frame do they need their order filled? The basic customer data that is collected will differ with every business. A national Donut franchise will have very different data than a local law firm. How you compile and use that data will also differ.
For the purposes of this article, let’s assume we are starting at square one. We are looking to acquire customers and data regarding potential customers. How do we do it? There is no single way, or even a best way, but there are ways. Here is one suggestion. For this scenario, let’s assume that you have no data and are starting a data capturing campaign. (In future posts we will look at alternate approaches, but for now we are casting a wide net).
STEP 1: GET A LIST– First look at a set of very basic demographic data into which your customers, or potential customers, fit. Of course, you did your market research and have this information available, right? The target audience for almost every business will differ. Characteristics like geography, age, gender and countless others will help you pinpoint the right audience, deliver the right message and obtain the best data for your specific campaign. Doing your research, and knowing who you plan to target is a key to success. We will assume you have done your homework and know the data about the demographic you want to target. With this information, you or your marking services provider can obtain a list of prospects that meets those needs. There are many, many list brokers out there, and some are better than others. Some due diligence here will serve you well. Once you have purchased the list, you will use it to create and send your message, whether by printed material, email or if you want to be even more effective, a combination of both.
STEP 2: CREATE A COMPELLING, PERSONALIZED MESSAGE – Now that you have your data in the form of a thorough list of your target audience, you will want to personalize your offering to them. Remember, every person in your audience is unique. Treat them that way. Whether you are using ink on paper, email or both to communicate with your audience, personalized message get read more often and are thus, more effective. Use their name in your message. Use variable graphics and variable data to personalize the message to each recipient. Add a personal URL or a QR Code to bring people to their own page on your website. Your goal here is to engage your potential customer. Simply stated, personalization has been shown to improve your ROI.
STEP 3: HAVE AN APPEALING CALL TO ACTION – Now that you targeted your audience and delivered to them a timely and relevant personalized message, you want to get them to do something. Perhaps you would like them to supply an email address, register for a webinar or complete a survey, but you definitely want them to opt-in to future communications from you. To achieve this you must grab your reader’s attention immediately and let them know the benefits of what you are offering. Use strong headings like: John, the information in this message can help your company wallop the competition. Or: Don’t miss your chance to be among the first to receive an industry-changing information. While the call to action must be compelling, it must also be true or you will lose your credibility.
STEP 4: CAPTURE AND USE THE DATA – Make it easy for the reader to provide the data. And make it easy for you to maintain and use that data. There is a lot of software that can automate this. Many hosting companies will provide this service to you as part of your hosting package. However, data security and privacy are important to keep your customer’s trust and to comply with an ever growing body of law (check back here next week for a post on that very subject). Still, after the effort to obtain the data, you want to use it to better know your customers and of course, use in subsequent campaigns. Analyzing your data is another great way to use the information you captured. Was your research correct? Were your respondents who you thought they would be? While the data you just obtained is a great start for ongoing marketing campaigns, it also can help you target even more customers interested in your products and services. However, that is a subject for another post.
None of this has to be rocket science, but it does require time and attention. And the more complex the campaign, the more time and effort it will take to execute properly. If you too are busy running a company or department, you can have the bulk of this work done by a marketing service provider. They can help with everything from obtaining to analyzing your current customer data, procuring a targeted prospect list, crafting and designing your personalized messages and call to action and analyzing the new data for even more effective future campaigns.
THE TAKE_AWAY:
STEP 1: GET A CURRENT, TARGETED LIST
STEP 2: CREATE A COMPELLING, PERSONALIZED MESSAGE
STEP 3: HAVE AN APPEALING CALL TO ACTION
STEP 4: CAPTURE, ANALYZE AND USE THE DATA
If you have any thoughts about this topic, please share them Your input is alway welcome. Let’s share experiences. All of us together are smarter than any one of us alone.
Until Next Time, John