Customer Data for SME - The Benefits and Challenges

Have you ever noticed when you enter in any website a pop up appears for you to agree with the Cookies policy on that page? Always when you agree with that you are giving permission to that specific website to collect any possible data generated by your visit. Any move made inside that page will generate data for many purposes. The same way, when you are digitalizing your business, you need to have in mind that to understand your customers behaviours, to personalize your digital marketing campaign, and to generate income through your digital platform you must collect data from the page’s visitors.

The use of customer data can be really beneficial for your business as your marketing strategies will be based on that, but also can be challenging if that data is not managed correctly. On this blog we will discuss some benefits and challenges of using customer data for your SME marketing campaign.

Improve customer experience

When creating a webpage or a profile on social media you must have a purpose for that. Websites and social media pages can be a source of information about your product or service only but also can be used as sales platforms. But to do that your business will need to create a connection with your audience. With the use of CRM or Customer Relationship Management tools, you can collect, analyse and manage the data to improve customers experience and consequently influence on their buying decision.

There are plenty of CRM platforms available out there. Two of them, very well known in Ireland, can provide a free range of services for start-ups and can help you with the data gathering. Hubspot can be used to analyse the data and run an inbound marketing campaign, help with insights into prospects, and help with customer service. And SalesForce makes it easy for small businesses and start-ups build stronger client relationships with an all-in-one sales and support solution which is easy to use and simple setup.

Personalize campaigns and offers

Having opt-in pages for users to subscribe for especial offers or short surveys where they can give their feedback, can collect enough data for you to personalize your campaign and offer products or services according to their preferences. Have a look in this research from GWI, where Lorna Keane writes about 9 brilliant examples of personalized marketing campaigns, created with data collected from customers.

Create loyalty and grow sales

Loyalty programs, when wisely used, are also a big advantage your business can get from customers data gathering. Many companies are yet to understand the meaning of Loyalty programs and how important it is to ensure the growth of sales. A loyalty program provides a sophisticated means of tracking every transaction between a customer and a brand so that the Big Data can then be analysed to better understand the buyer’s habits and needs.

Allied with a loyalty program the company needs to be transparent and honest. Only creating a loyalty program to give rewards like points or vouchers to customers without understanding and bounding with them will not bring the return you are looking for. Studies have shown that customers are more likely to keep buying from a company that understands their necessities and are honest when offering products or services that really matter to them. In the infographic below KPMG shows that only a loyalty program itself is not enough to keep customers loyal to your brand.

By understanding your consumers’ behaviour and needs you will be able to build a closer relationship with them and consequently encourage return purchases and greater spending, while simultaneously flagging up cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

Challenges when managing customer data

One important thing to have in mind when storing and managing your customers data is to keep all the information safe from possible cyber attacks. “Cybercrime is big business. In fact, research shows that cybercriminals bring in yearly revenues around $1.5 trillion — that’s equal to the GDP of Russia. Cybercriminals make their money through data — they hack systems, steal data, resell it, or sometimes hold it for ransom.” (segment.com) It is your responsibility as a business owner or as a marketer to ensure all the data collected will be safe. You can visit segment.com to learn more about measures that you can take to secure your customer data.

European companies are regulated by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Under this law companies who collect data from EU citizens are required to implement measures to keep that data protected. Failing to do so can result in fines. As we mentioned in the beginning of this post, the Cookies Policy that appears in every website that people visit is really important because as they agree to share their information with your company, you also must agree to keep their information safe.

Contact us today! Our team at You on Marketing is ready to help you create strategies for your business to succeed online.