The customer data trends to prepare for next
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.
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.)
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.
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.
There's a lot more we can do with the data, especially in the omnichannel mix.