Data runs everything today—browsing the web on my phone, my heart beat and wellness on my fitbit, my credit card spending history. And those are just a few things brands know about me.
Data runs the world. Brands now have information and context about their customers at their fingertips that directly impacts so many aspects of the business, from finance to product development to marketing, you name it. Brands can deliver an elevated experience to their customers through each of these avenues by means of great data.
So what exactly does “great data” mean for your organization? In the world of data, there are a few key aspects that contribute to reliable data: origin, cohesivity, relevance, and timeliness.
Origin
The foundation of good data is fortified in where it comes from. Remember in school when your research projects were sourced from notable, scholarly works instead of Wikipedia. It’s a similar concept. Where your data comes from must be trustworthy. In business terms, first party data, should be one of your best and most trustworthy methods for data assuming you have the reliable tools to extract, store, and analyze it. This includes things like your website, your mobile platforms, your social media, etc. Beyond your own data, making sure any third party collected data is reliable by working with notable and reliable companies and agencies.
Cohesivity
How well-rounded is your data? Brands need to dip their hands in every available channel if they wish to have a true 360° view of your customers. If you listen to only one channel, you may get biased results. Only looking at your desktop website excludes a major section of your customers that prefer mobile. Only listening to social media excludes a lot of positive remarks (people love to complain online!). You get the picture. Being able to take a true omnichannel approach to your data will create the most complete picture of your market and how to cater to them.
Relevance
Remaining relevant is key to data. What KPIs are you interested in. A media / entertainment brand looking at which toothpaste customers prefer may not be exactly relevant to your goals. While that is an extreme example, keeping in mind what you need to know about your market and which data sources will help you learn those market traits will lead to where you’ll need to extract data from. If you need to know how people feel about a new product launch, tracking purchases on your website and mobile app, listening to social media responses, and polling customers in traditional market research will all be worthwhile methods to learn how the launch was received.
Timeliness
Out of date information is virtually useless. Whether or not your market enjoyed your marketing initiatives or your product updates three years ago isn’t going to inform much today. It’s imperative to have timely data. Having a system in place where data is inputted in real-time is essential in today’s fast paced world. Customers expect their experiences across channels to be in sync and the only way to do that is to have instant data communication.
Great data means great implementation
But with great data comes great responsibility. And by that we mean implementation. Having great data is only valuable if your teams know how to best implement it into your strategy.
In order to manage and utilize your data, we have put together a best practices guide on how to deliver your brand’s best customer experience. Center your data implementation around the 6Ws we all learned in school:
- Why—the point of the campaign, why are you running it? What are you hoping to accomplish?
- What—the campaign itself, including copy and creative
- Where—the channel your customers prefer to receive communications
- Who—the segmented list or lists that campaigns will resonate with best
- When—what time is best to send them the campaign
- How—how often? Some customers will love as much communication as possible and some will prefer every now and then
By framing your data in this context, your brand can utilize your data to its full potential while also having all communications resonate with your market.
With great data and utilization, brands can deliver an elevated customer experience. Great data implementation will positively impact many business elements, from marketing to customer support to product. You’ll be able to ensure relevant communications to each customer, develop products similar to customer favorites, reduce call center traffic through AI-supported customer assist. The possibilities with great data are endless.
To learn more about how data can affect your organization, read our Personalization Framework Guide.