Data is rapidly becoming a focal point for all marketing activities. It has given new meaning to “follow the consumer.”
Big Box retailers have quickly come to understand how using data can assist in driving sales. It goes back to the theory of having scale in your marketing efforts but executing in a very personalized manner. Ideologically, it’s a waste to collect valuable nuggets of customer information and not use it to further your revenue goals. So companies are now placing resources behind the management of first-party data. Below illustrates the importance of data’s role:
- Critical in marketing strategy development and enhancing consumer engagement
- Consumer-first strategies has yielded using data in a predictive technique with better segmentation of target audiences
- Ability to purchase third-party data for the purposes of integrating with proprietary data
Given the inherent use of data and its growing significance, business organizations should consider who should be the keeper of the data collected and how much resources should be put in place to manage the data. Data should be treated like other integral entities within the organization. There are dedicated resources allocated for sales, distribution, marketing, etc., and data management should carry the same level of prominence. This allows marketers to tap into the data resources efficiently as necessary while maintaining their focused on developing strategies that will drive the desired target audience to purchase.
As the race heats up to gather and manage data, be sure your business is transparent with the proprietary data collected. Consumers want their proprietary information be kept confidential and not be sold to other companies. Be sure that you install proper security to keep the data safe.
Propose an incentive to your current base of customers to keep them agreeable with providing updates to their information, as well as maintaining affinity to your business. Like other business information, create a roadmap to manage, grow and/or purge the data collected. A roadmap requires clearly defined goals and adheres to best practices for your organization.
Adele Lassere is a marketing/advertising consultant with 20+ years experience, freelance writer and author of “Elements of Buying” (a self-help advertising guide) available at Amazon.com. Adele was listed as Black Enterprise’s 2011 Top Execs in Marketing & Advertising and Black Enterprise’s 2013 Top Women Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Contact: [email protected]
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