Unlocking the Value of Your Customers
The more customer data you have, the better off your business will be, because you can provide them with tailored product recommendations and tailor-made customer service. With customer data, marketers can now leverage insights to create content that is more interesting or relevant than ever before.
Without much effort at all, your business will gain access to an avalanche of data and start seeing dramatic improvements in revenue and profits. However, there are some steps you will need to take first before getting the most out of this process in order to protect yourself from any potential backlash from other businesses or consumers who might not want their personal information shared with a third-party company.
Step 1: Understand what data you have.
The first step in unlocking the value of your customers is to understand what data you have. If you already have a large volume of customer information, then your first step should be to evaluate it and put the information in a usable format for your business. If you don't currently have this type of information, then start by searching on any popular search engine.
There are a number of free tools online that will help guide you through this process. One great tool is Google Analytics, which will help you identify the different types of data that your business might have such as: web pages viewed, locations visited, how many people visit those pages and how long they stay there, etc..
Step 2: Set up a data retention schedule.
Once you have discovered what types of data your business has collected from customers over time, you will want to set up a data retention schedule. Basically, this is a schedule that lists the months and years of time during which you will save certain items of information such as: IP addresses, URLs, email addresses, telephone numbers, shipping address information, transaction amount and payment method used for each order submitted by the different customers. This information is valuable in terms of helping consumers find out who they are buying from or how they can improve their purchasing experience.
Step 3: Create a new login page or redirect old ones.
Next you will want to create a new login page or to redirect all incoming traffic from the old login page to the new one. This step is necessary since you are now dealing with sensitive data and you will want to protect yourself from liability if anything bad happens down the road.
One simple and yet effective way of doing this is by implementing an SSL certificate on your website. The "S" in "SSL" stands for secure and it's designed to protect sensitive information that a user might enter into a website. SSL certificates are available for free through most major domain registration companies like GoDaddy, Network Solutions, 1&1 Internet etc.. Once you have installed the SSL certificate, you will want to add an extra step on your new login page. In order to do this, just follow the instructions given by the vendor of your SSL certificate if you are using one of the aforementioned companies.
Step 4: Add a few search terms to Google's search engine.
To help boost your chances of being found by consumers searching for products and services on Google, add some additional terms to your website's meta tags (see Step 2 ). These terms will help ping searchers in their search results which should increase how likely they are to find your website when they look for it.
Step 5: Set up an automatic email reminder for single-click purchases in PayPal.
Finally, you will want to set up an automatic email reminder for single-click purchases in PayPal. This way you can remind consumers of the security measures in place with the payment method they used (Step 3).
This is crucial since most users are not aware that their data is being stored after they complete a purchase.
If you use this data in a way that benefits your business without any negative effects on the customer, then you should be able to considerably increase sales and profit margins.
Step 6: Understand how your customers are using your product
Another great way to take advantage of customer data is by getting them involved in the creation of content that benefits everyone involved and not just your business. Making your customers feel like they are part of the process will result in higher conversion rates and increase the likelihood of them sharing your data with other people.
If you provide your customers with a way to contribute their opinions, feedback or data, then you have succeeded in tapping into the minds of those who represent your most loyal customers – and that's a good place to be.
Step 7: Use customer insights to improve SEO.
Customer data is also valuable when it comes to improving search engine optimization. Since your customers' information is used to determine how relevant the content on your website is, it can be used to improve the ranking of your website in search engine results.
For instance if you have a highly specialized product that only a few thousand people use then it might not be very relevant for users who are searching on Google for the same type of product. However, if you have many thousands of customers using this same type of product then their collective insight will probably provide a better result for search engines when they conduct searches on related terms.
With today's online consumers, businesses that understand how to use customer data to their advantage are at a significant advantage over their competitors.
About the Author:
A professional writer for more than 10 years, I have written for B2B publications and freelanced for various websites on topics related to technology and computers such as How-to Geek http://www.howtogeek.com/, Build PC http://build-pc.net/ and TechofTomorrow http://techotomorrow.com/. I also have a passion for writing about things that empower people. This passion has been the driving force behind my writing career as I believe that knowledge should be shared freely and people should be empowered to make their own lives better. Feel free to email me at andy@techoftomorrow.com and follow me on Twitter.
About the Tech of Tomorrow series:
I have always had a passion to know more about things which empower people and making others' lives better. During the last 10 years or so, I have worked as a writer for various websites; covering topics from technology to computers, home improvement to new innovative technologies and everything else in between including e-commerce articles about shopping online and how it can be made easy yet profitable. During this time, I started my own business and have been running it successfully. It was during this time that I realized that in order to really be successful, you need to empower yourself with knowledge. This was when the idea for the "Tech of Tomorrow" blog series was born. The purpose of these articles is to share my passion for helping others by providing them with valuable information that can help them improve their lives. You can find links to all of my articles here: http://www.techoftomorrow.com/index.
Conclusion:
Today, most people are becoming more data-aware thanks to the availability of robust software tools that allow them to monitor their personal and business' online activity. The data these tools deliver – along with the constant flow of information coming from social media platforms, web traffic and search engine results – reveals a lot of information about your customers' preferences.
As long as you have a solid strategy in place to leverage this data in order to improve your sales, then there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to compete against your competitors.
About the Author:
I have spent a long time learning more about how technology can help empower others.