Achieving and maintaining customer loyalty is one of the biggest challenges of running a successful business in 2022.
Consumer research shows that approximately 75% of buyers changed their shopping behavior over the past 12 months. In fact, more than 40% switched brands. And 39% changed retailers.
The reasons for these shake ups are varied.
Some people are simply exploring new options. Others are buying from organizations that offer better value for money. And some are starting to make buying decisions based on their values and how brands align with those.
But the one thing that seems to remain constant throughout all this change is the importance of high-quality data. After all, solid business decisions cannot happen without a data-based approach, which, quite logically, relies on information about your audience’s behavior, sentiments, and needs.
So, if your goal for the upcoming period is to increase customer loyalty and ensure your hard-won leads remain paying customers long into the future, here’s how data collecting might help you achieve that effect.
Utilizing Data to Improve the Customer Experience
One of the most significant benefits of data collection is that it gives business leaders a unique opportunity to boost the customer experience. And although exceptional customer experience may seem like a lofty goal to strive towards, research shows that it’s definitely worth the investment.
For example, Forrester’s Customer Experience Index shows that brands that excelled in meeting their clients’ needs (and exceeding their expectations) saw significant gains in 2021. The benefits they received from focusing on CX included more leeway when they made mistakes, the ability to charge a premium for their products, a significant increase in customer lifetime value, and, most importantly, increased customer loyalty.
And the great thing about these benefits is that they are easily attainable with the right approach to collecting and using data.
For example, something as simple as gathering feedback from existing clients allows brands to improve their products and services and reduce churn rates (which have been on the rise among SVOD providers, according to Deloitte).
Alternatively, data collection could also aid brands in improving website user experience, which directly impacts conversion and engagement rates and influences brand reputation. Even simple heatmaps, scroll maps, and move maps can aid design teams in determining the best spots to place high-value conversion-driving elements or unique sales propositions.
Then there’s the fact that well-executed data collection allows your marketing team to deliver better results.
Something as basic as keeping tabs on keywords and search terms that perform well in PPC campaigns can allow you to improve your site’s SEO. And you could see even better results by going a step further and conducting surveys, going through customer feedback with a fine-toothed comb, or just asking a couple of key questions during the onboarding phase.
These data-collection methods promise to give your business priceless information to act on. They can genuinely help you create better content that’s fully optimized to deliver value to your audience.
But, while the possibilities unlocked by the right approach to data collection are endless – whether you’re aiming for a boost in customer loyalty or just general improvements to your KPIs, it’s essential to understand that there are right and wrong ways to approach data collecting in 2022.
How to Do Data Collection Right
Generally, as you venture to collect data about your audience, it’s essential that you employ the best possible approach. Not just so that you can ensure valuable insights you can use to increase customer loyalty. But more importantly, so that you avoid the common mistakes that brands make when gathering information regarding their potential buyers.
If you’re just getting started with data collection, these are the four main rules you should adhere to.
1. Keep up to date with relevant legislation.
Knowing what type of personal information you can collect (and under what circumstances) will be essential in 2022 and beyond. So don’t skip your research. Instead, make sure you know precisely what’s expected of you and don’t allow any slips unless you’re prepared to face the (often expensive) consequences.
2. Know what you want to achieve.
Investing time and money into data collection is absolutely pointless unless you have a clear idea of what you can do with it. Whether your goal is to enhance the customer experience, make changes to your website, or improve your products or services is key in helping you zoom in on the information you need and the collection methods that will work to get it.
3. Don’t ignore the results.
One of the most common mistakes brands make when gathering data to boost customer loyalty is that they accumulate information, make changes, and then fail to measure the long-term results of those changes. If your goal is to get more long-term customers, make sure that you have the analytical tools in place which will allow you to measure outcomes. Keep an eye on your bottom line, churn rates, and customer lifetime value to get a better idea of where you stand regarding customer loyalty.
4. Use the newfound knowledge to inspire better relationships with your clients.
Finally, if you are committed to investing in customer loyalty, don’t forget about the possibilities that data collection opens for relationship-building. Something as simple as rewarding clients for transactions and engagement or recognizing your most active advocates makes for a great way to use the information you have right now to benefit your business in the long run.
As you can see, using high-quality information to drive positive business results doesn’t have to be rocket science. At least not when you’re focusing on customer experience and customer loyalty.
Of course, you can always take the way you use data a step further and do your best to keep in line with emerging trends.
Whatever direction you take, always remember that at the core of a successful business is a base of loyal and satisfied customers. So, employ data – but make sure to do it in a way that will help you find quick and effective ways to keep your clients happy and coming back for a long time.
About the Author
Natasha Lane is a lady of a keyboard with a rich history of working in the IT and digital marketing fields. She is always happy to collaborate with awesome blogs and share her knowledge all around the web. Besides content creating, Natasha is nowadays quite passionate about helping small business to grow strong.
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