There are a few things that I fear more than being out of touch. These days, being outdated might leave you out of the conversation. Recently, I experienced being on the receiving end of that "out of touch-ness": as I logged into my online banking, a gleaming ad for a cool gadget popped up.
Don't they know me? Can't they see that not only I don't have money in my account for impulse purchases, but that I never buy that kind of stuff?
Doesn't it feel ironic that the company that knows everything I earn and spend can't tell what type of offer would be more relevant to me?
This kind of experience tends to be a deal-breaker for customers in the digital age, especially millennials. Customer loyalty is becoming an increasingly coveted asset, and tales of impatient clients leaving the business for minor annoyances keep many firms up all night. Not that they’ll hear about it: research shows that 25 out of 26 customers will simply leave instead of bothering to tell them what they dislike.
But how about looking at it from a positive angle? The opposite is also true: a simple but sustained personalization effort can boost your retention rates. And it pays off – according to Gartner, 80% of your company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers. Pleasing at least one out of five clients is certainly easier than winning five new ones outright.
When we talk to our clients about this opportunity, one of the most common obstacles we hear is, "we don’t have the data to do so"! Also, they might add, taking data from customers is time-consuming and hurts the customer experience, and they are not willing to give their data. Yes, customer unwillingness is a real concern, and here are some things we like to mention to ease it.
Banks and credit unions actually have a wealth of potential and actual data from their customers. You do know which services and products they buy, which special offers they claim, which rewards they favor, and so on....Plus, you have all their personal information which they gave you when they opened their account or applied to a credit card. Isn't that a lot of data, or at least a great starting point? So could it be that the issue is not the data but the right tools to work it?
That’s where personalization enters the picture. The right tools and platforms will allow you to harvest that data and analyze it in real-time, so you can keep track of what’s going on. They will also help create comprehensive client profiles: age groups, genders, consumption patterns, geographic factors, habits… And all of this can even be automated: IA and machine learning leads to the creation of algorithms that learn on the go, as they’re fed with data.
Finally, there are tools to segment your clients, so you can reflect a bit on how to reach each segment. For example, what’s the best way to engage those who spend a lot on consumer electronics? What could you offer them that they could like or need?
I know for a fact that I will not be in that crowd, but there’s something for everyone. After all, a few days after getting paid, I logged on again and was really tempted by a holiday getaway ad that popped up. I felt some kind of intimacy as in "ah, now we are talking!".
And that is the goal: to retain customers by using the info they already provided and show them you know them. Great rewards await!
Want to know how you can start using your data right now to create more relevant, personalized campaigns?
Image credit: shutterstock.