Benefits and Challenges of using Customer Data for Marketing

There are both benefits and challenges to using customer data for marketing.  

Benefits include: 

·      catering to consumer preferences

·      ensuring relevant communications

·      correct information of customer wants and needs

·      anticipating needs in easy ways 

Challenges include: 

·      privacy concerns

·      data usage restrictions

·      maintenance and security demands

·      security breaches, 

·      undisclosed monitoring

·      unexpected data uses

·      undesired outreach from third parties

 

Customer data is a helpful tool in identifying and listening to the customer. When done in the correctly it can be an effective way for organisations to show interest and care in the customers needs. It also allows businesses to align their messaging to the needs and interests of their audience. 

Companies can use data-driven marketing programs for a number of reasons. One main goal is to drive personalised buyer conversations that convert into measurable outcomes such as sales or engagement. Capturing customer data across different channels provides marketers valuable insights on how buyers interact with their content with the use of technology tools such as web analytics and mobile analytics. This enables marketers to be  better positioned at presenting the right customer with the right content/product and also reducing the customer effort to find the relevant products / services that meet their needs. 

If using customer data, you need to do so in a way that customers appreciate. GDPR must be enforced for all companies collecting customer data. There can be significant repercussions if not used correctly to effectively serve customers, and the very fact that customers know that you’re collecting their data gives them leverage to call your organisation out if that trust is breeched.

Listening to your customers and asking them how they prefer to be informed about why and how their data might be used is key to building trust. Don’t make assumptions on behalf of your customers on how they would prefer to be communicated with. Be sure to reflect and respect their preferences and allow audience members to either opt in or be aware of your activities. 

Reminding and rewarding customers about the value they receive by sharing their data is also important. Consumers are becoming more aware of how their data is being used by tech and companies and can now understand why they receive specific ads. Therefore communicate the value buyers receive by sharing their information. Examples to these include subscriber discounts, savings a customer receives by using a loyalty card in a shop or the total savings a customer enjoyed by subscribing to receive mobile push notifications from a local retailer.

 

The benefits hopefully outweigh the challenges once GDPR is respected.

MWK