What’s the most effective approach to gathering insightful, honest and relevant information on the needs and behaviours of consumers? Data analysis, naturally. It’s become a key tool for strategy and decision making for marketers; it allows us to stay tuned with our consumers, track the results of our marketing activities and inform our future decisions, but more-often-than-not, the majority of this information is drawn from internal sources. While this is beneficial, taking a look at external insights and pairing this with existing internal information can further enhance the success of your marketing activities and provide you with a clearer profile of your consumers.
Take a look outside
Many businesses across numerous sectors hold a wealth of data on their customers, enabling them to maintain an accurate and detailed picture of their typical buyer profile and shopping habits. Retailers, in particular, have pioneered implementing loyalty schemes that provide their customer base with promotions and special offers which are tailored to their preferences, in return for their data which enables them to segment their database and execute far more targeted and impactful marketing activity. However, a much more detailed profile of customers can be built up by drawing on other external insight, including data from consumers’ social media profiles.
Aim for clearer results
To put this into play, internal insights may show a customer is frequently purchasing your product: click-throughs to your website are strong, your social media following is high and customers are repeat purchasing. This all appears very positive but it may not necessarily be all that it seems; your activities aren’t translating to a boost in sales and you can’t determine why. This is where external insights can uncover missing pieces to the puzzle. For example, a negative news story or a negative opinion of an influencer could be having an impact. By looking at what your customers and target audience are actively saying about your brand or the industry you operate within, you can determine how to position your activities in future to stay ahead of the competition.
Untap a new market
External data also helps marketers profile prospective customers, giving them a much stronger chance of resonating with this coveted audience. But how are many companies are using external insight to paint this much fuller picture and empowering their marketing function to speak to both existing and new customers, in the right way and at the right time? By incorporating an external media analysis tool with your marketing activities, you can investigate which consumers are talking about your brand or industry. Maybe you’ll find there’s a new demographic you haven’t been targeting, or you might find influential people already actively discussing your brand positively that you can engage with. Using a tool that can provide up-to-date information on relevant discussions in real-time also allows marketers to jump on timely opportunities.
Paint the full picture
Loyalty schemes and CRMs are certainly nothing new, and companies - retailers, in particular - are well-informed of their value. However, the opportunity exists to pair internal data with insight gleaned from the macro environment to profile both existing, and prospective customers, in a more accurate and detailed way than ever before. Armed with this ‘full picture’ of their customer, marketers can truly understand buying triggers, as well as other preferences, to maximise the impact of their activity, thus driving brand awareness and sales.
By Heidi Myers, marketing director EMEA at Meltwater
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus