Do More With Data
Five industry experts share their thoughts on customer data challenges, how to solve them, and the trends to look out for next.
Challenges ahead
The obstacles blocking
data-driven decisions
When it comes to customer data, it can be tricky knowing where to start.
Rising costs, attribution, tightening regulations, personalisation, consolidation...
These were just some of the many challenges cited by the marketing leaders we spoke to during this campaign.
So perhaps it's unsurprising that 48% of employees ignore data-driven insights, instead following their gut instincts when making decisions.
But assuming you know what your customers want – and how to fulfil it – can seriously damage your customer experience.
Yet making data-driven decisions with confidence is easier said than done.
It requires pulling together the masses of data floating around your organisation, knowing which numbers to crunch, then turning analytics into action that drives long-term growth.
That's a far cry from the bold, creative campaigns that likely got you into marketing in the first place.
To shine some light on the issue, we sat down with some of the brightest brains in the business.
We wracked their brains on the opportunities marketers are missing to drive more value from their customer data, the smart brands using data in innovative ways, and predictions for the future of customer data.
Turn the pages to discover what they said – and how you can do more with your customer data to drive seriously impressive results.
28% of tech decision-makers expect changes to customer data regulations to hinder their 2022 growth goals
Shopify
Read on to discover:
- How brands can do more with their customer data
- The brands using customer data in innovative ways
- The future of customer data
Featuring expert insights from:
- Adam Freeman, Managing Partner at MediaVision
-
Harry Symes-Thompson, Head of Sales & Marketing at Wild
- Jocelyn Toonders, Head of Partnerships at Mention Me
-
Kris Dimitroff, Global Head of Technology Partnerships at Emarsys
- Sarah Geoffrian, Group Account Director at Nest Performance
Seeking solutions
Five ways to
do more with data
5 ways to do more with your customer data
Our experts reveal the untapped opportunities to turn data insights into meaningful customer engagement.
1. Build direct relationships with customers
Identify your most valuable customers – those who refer friends – and treat them better than any others.
Provide memorable, seamless experiences across your channels, whether they're buying in-store, scrolling through social media, or telling friends about your brand.
91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations.
Accenture
2. Follow the data at every stage
Capturing data at every stage – and using it to enhance the customer journey – is crucial to long-term success. Understand what each segment wants, when, and feed these insights across your marketing activity to provide personalised experiences that optimise performance.
3. Have a 360 view of your customers
Combine your channels and data into one platform that provides a single customer view, wherever they're shopping, so you can react accordingly (and quickly).
An effective customer data platform will take your data, segment it, automate campaigns and measure results – so you can focus on executing creative, data-driven campaigns with confidence.
4. Start simple
Even the most sophisticated businesses had to master the basics of their data strategies first. Start with testing one thing at a time across just a few marketing channels, focus on what's working and build from there.
The same goes for data sources: start with one, such as Google Analytics, then pull in more as you become more sophisticated.
5. Get creative
iOS 14 and ongoing tracking changes have made it essential to develop new ways to reach target consumers.
Rather than rely on strategies that worked before, be creative with how you use your data and segment your customers.
By tapping into niche audiences – such as customers who have referred – you can reach completely new audiences who go on to become loyal customers to your brand.
(Bonus) 6. Hire the right skills and tools
Rather than drown in the numbers, invest in the right platforms and people to turn your data into valuable insights – so you can take off your data scientist hat and focus on being the creative marketer you were employed to be.
To be successful now, you have to be data-led. You have to have a proposition for consumers that captures data at every single stage of your relationship with them.
Adam Freeman, Managing Partner at MediaVision
Key takeaways
- Build direct relationships with your customers
- Follow the data at every stage
- Have a 360 view of your customers
- Start simple
- Get creative
- Hire the right skills and tools
Paving the way
Meet the brands getting creative with their data
The brands getting smart with their data
Featured brands:
- SPOKE
- Seraphine
- Samsonite
- Thread
- Wild
Get inspired by the brands taking forward-thinking approaches to their customer data – achieving impressive results along the way.
SPOKE uses referral data to target lookalike audiences on Facebook
Seraphine and SPOKE: targeting referrer lookalike audiences on paid social
You might not expect the same approach to work for both a maternity fashion brand and menswear trouser retailer, but Seraphine and SPOKE prove otherwise.
After discovering their most valuable customers were those referring others, Seraphine and SPOKE started targeting referrer lookalike audiences on Facebook – significantly driving up conversions and decreasing acquisition costs as a result.
Referrer lookalike audiences are cheaper to run, the conversion rates are higher and we're driving more purchases. It makes everything more efficient: it’s the ideal situation to be in."
Sarah Geoffrion, Group Account Director at Nest Performance
Samsonite: executing personalised win-back campaigns
When lockdown restrictions began easing, luggage brand Samsonite executed win-back campaigns to target previous customers ready to travel again.
By personalising campaigns through predictive search, the brand provided specific recommendations that caught the attention – and spend – of its jetsetting demographic.
Thread: serving data-driven customer experiences
This apparel brand is putting personalisation and data right at the heart of its marketing strategy. In return for sharing details such as their age, budget and email, customers at Thread get ultra-personalised style recommendations.
When a customer updates their preferences, Thread refines its suggestions to deliver outfits they're guaranteed to love. A better experience for customers and more insights for Thread – that's what we call a win-win.
Wild: integrating referral and CRM platforms
Customer data has always played a major role in Wild’s marketing strategy. But it wasn’t until the deodorant brand injected its first-party referral data into its CRM platform that it opened up a world of new possibilities.
Now, Wild encourages referrals through email and sends out reminders when a customer has an offer to use, maximising share rates and conversions.
What's next?💡
Read on to discover the trends set to shape the future of customer data.
Looking to the future
The customer data trends
to prepare for next
Predicting the future of customer data
While customer data will continue to evolve in unexpected ways, one thing is clear: it's only going to be more critical to business success.
Our experts discuss the trends to prepare for next.
The metrics that matter
Rather than try to turn every cell in a spreadsheet into insights that inform action, brands should focus on quality over quantity – both in terms of the customers they acquire and the data they depend on.
Stay laser-focussed on the metrics that matter most to your business, and it won't be long until your steady improvements in performance add up to significant results.
One such key metric to track is referrals. In this age of personalisation, there's nothing more personal than a friend's recommendation of a brand they think you'll love.
By looking beyond your big-spenders to your brand advocates, you can tap into a highly valuable – yet often overlooked – audience.
On average, referred customers spend 11% more on their first order and are 5x more likely to refer onwards, kickstarting a powerful cycle of growth that relies little day-to-day maintenance.
Quality over quantity
Despite the disappearance of third-party cookies and Apple's recent iOS changes, there remains a valuable opportunity to build out a database of high-quality customers.
A shopper who actively chooses to opt-in to your newsletter is far more likely to become a loyal brand advocate than someone who is unknowingly being tracked after doing a quick Google search.
Instead of fretting about the number of rows in your customer database, hone in on the lifetime value of each customer and how you can nurture this to be even higher. (Hint: your most valuable customers will be introducing their friends.)
Getting real
In addition to a precision-engineered referral programme, another way to increase customer lifetime value is through serving experiences in real-time.
We've all felt the disappointment of being offered a belated discount when we've just splashed out on a full-price item. At best, these mishaps cause confusion; at worse, they risk cancelled orders, complaints and vows to never return.
Integrating your platforms is key to avoiding situations like these. By streamlining your data across channels, you can better serve your customers consistent, engaging experiences, however they're shopping with you.
Tip of the iceberg
With as many as 94% of consumers choosing to opt out of tracking, earning customer data has never been so essential to success.
This may feel daunting, but in reality it presents a powerful opportunity to refine your customer experiences in ways that make shoppers want to give you their information.
The technology landscape has radically changed over the past decade, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, consumers expectations continue to rise, with shoppers shirking the brands that fail to offer highly personalised and relevant experiences.
This is just the beginning: there is still so much brands can do with their data. And from where we're standing, that feels pretty exciting.
Online marketing is only going to get more personalised and more relevant. I think that’s really exciting.
Kris Dimitroff, Global Head of Technology Partnerships at Emarsys
There's a lot more we can do with the data, especially in the omnichannel mix.
Harry Symes-Thompson, Head of Sales & Marketing at Wild
