There isn’t really any sort of “Golden Ticket” to running a business. There is no singular tool that does everything and pushes growth and success on its own. However, there are a few that come close in the eyes of many successful business owners and we really want to talk about one in particular. So let’s talk about Customer Data.
The beautiful thing about customer data is the number of opportunities it gives you! Ranging from long-term strategies like predictive analytics to super-fast activities like personalised email marketing and abandoned cart recovery. Customer data has the power to give you quick wins to help with sales as well as longer-term strategic planning for continuous growth.
However, with something so sensitive as customer data there naturally comes with it a lot of responsibilities such as the risk associated with not securing it effectively.
So let’s take a look together at how customer data benefits your company and its role inside your wider business strategy.
The Opportunities of utilising Customer Data
85% of businesses hold customer data so it’s a resource that almost everyone has at their disposal. If you’re not sure where to begin, then you need to start taking control over the digital inside your business which we can help you with.
There’s a simple rule in business that 80% of your sales comes from current or repeat business and the remaining 20% is from new pipeline. We see all the time that so many companies are just about surviving on mainly the 20%. Take a second to think about the huge opportunity available if you could more effectively tap into that 80%!
Companies can leverage customer data effectively to boost their sales and improve their marketing with a wide range of activities such as:
- Personalised Marketing Campaigns
- Improved customer product recommendations
- Reengagement Offers/Promotions
How could you make the most of your customer data? Every business we work with has different circumstances and ways they can use it but the one thing they all have in common is that they see results when they really begin to control their data and use it effectively. If you want to discuss this, let us know and speak to a member of the team.
Risks and Responsibilities when holding customer data
As with anything there is always another side to the story. It’s important to understand and talk about the elephant in the room which is the risk and responsibilities behind holding customer data.
Depending on the sector the level of risk that your company could be the target of cyber crime increases just by the type of data you might hold on customers. For example, Aesthetic nurses hold onto medical data. Data breaches can cause big issues for companies due to fines from the ICO or even reputational damage – which we’ve talked about recently!
There’s a balance between the opportunity and responsabilities
With a strong Digital Culture in a business, finding the balance becomes part of standardisation. Some key ways this is done is by having well trained staff alongside good policies and procedures. The best part of this is that securing and controlling your data goes hand in hand with understanding it and using it for growth and increasing your sales.
Conclusion
It’s clear to see both from the data and from experience that almost everyone is collecting and has customer data (and if you don’t then you should).
Customer data is a powerful tool to grow your business, drive more sales, develop your strategies and long term goals. However, it has a catch of being highly sensitive and a big target for Hackers and Cyber Crime. All businesses have a legal responsibility to protect and secure their customer data, with large fines and legal consequences if they don’t. The most important thing to take away from this though is that the value to your business in taking control over the data and using it effectively is huge and when done correctly will work in tandem with putting in place the policies, procedures and culture needed to safeguard it.
We’re passionate about helping all companies take control over their Digital Culture and helping them grow.
If you want to keep up with our articles then sign up to our newsletter Here
Follow us on all Socials for regular tips on all things Digital
Or reach out if you have any questions
