Database marketing is nothing new, however today's marketers are collecting more customer data than ever before. As a result, data analysis is at the core of all modern marketing strategies.
With the amount of data created by consumers continuing to grow, the insight opportunities available through data collection is also growing, with marketing automation tools empowering marketing teams to put this data into action in many different ways.
However, for businesses that do not have a focused database marketing strategy, they are failing to capitalize on the benefits of database marketing.
So, what are the advantages of taking control of your customer data – and the benefits it offers to your customers?
Make your marketing communications more targeted
With an accurate, clean and centralized record of each customer (formed by a Single Customer View marketing database), marketers can create precise customer segments using offline and online data. This segmentation can be performed based on basic demographics such as age, gender, geographic location and purchase history. Or, you could also cluster groups of customers using RFV analysis, scoring and behaviors from online interactions across your web, email and social media channels.
Improve the efficiency of your marketing
Segmenting customers is not only important for ensuring that the correct person receives the most appropriate message, it is also far more cost effective than a ‘one message fits all’ approach to direct marketing. Finely targeted marketing is more efficient, particularly when sending emails and mailshots, as you are not wasting money sending catalogs or communications to those who are unlikely to respond.
Register for the next bi-weekly demo of BlueVenn to see how we can help your database marketing strategy
Join us for our next webinar demo when we will cover:
- Unifying data to create a Single Customer View
- Using segmentation to improve the efficiency of your marketing
- How a Customer Data Platform can foster customer loyalty
- Omnichannel customer journey orchestration
- Uncovering insights through customer analytics
Develop better relationships and customer loyalty
Analyzing your marketing database will help you identify your most loyal and most profitable customers. This enables you to single them out for treatment that demonstrates your appreciation of them. For example, shaping loyalty programs that reward their behavior, to build deeper relationships and encourage first-time buyers to become repeat customers.
A BlueVenn client wanted to drive loyalty within their customer base by rewarding their customers. To achieve this, they used a Single Customer View to engage their customers in their loyalty program, and rewarded points and discounts for the customers who provided product reviews. As a result, they achieved a significant increase in second purchases, customer retention and loyalty, and received more positive reviews to help with customer acquisition.
For consumers and clients, the effective use of database marketing will also benefit them, because:
The customer experience is personalized
It is widely agreed that customers value and engage more with brands that can offer them a more personal shopping journey. In the UK, research released by Gartner shows that only 12% of customers are “opposed to personalization”, while a study from Epsilon & GBH Insights shows that 80% of US adults want personalization from retailers. These figures prove that businesses today need to deliver personalized communications to their customers.
Using data for personalization means you can send communications to your customers that meet their interests, as well as customize their online experience. For example, analyzing their browsing data to change website pages so that they features products, services and messaging more suited to them.
Customers receive an improved service
Database marketing helps you understand what your customers need, and respond with engagements that meet these needs. A more customer-centric approach means better customer service, which prioritizes what they want over dictating a standard marketing message. Moreover, as your customer database can collect and store data that tracks their buying behavior, as well as their post-purchase feedback and product reviews, marketers can revise future messaging appropriately.
The requirements for successful database marketing
A data-driven approach to marketing can make your marketing strategies both more profitable and more affordable. However, how successful you are using your database will depend on several things:
- Your ability to access your customer data. If you can’t get to your customer data, you cannot put it to use. This is a problem that a Customer Data Platform can solve.
- The quality of your database (inaccurate, out-of-date data will perform very poorly no matter how well carefully it is segmented). This is where the Single Customer View process comes in, by merging, duplicating and cleansing your different streams of data into a single, trustworthy record for each customer.
- Your ability to analyze your data and automate campaigns. This is where the multi-channel campaign management features of BlueVenn help you turn insight into action.
To find out more about how the BlueVenn Customer Data Platform can transform your database marketing strategy, read our CDP White Paper, or sign up to our live bi-weekly webinar demonstration to see our technology in action.
Customer Data Platforms and Multi-Channel Decision Management
Marketing technology expert and founder of the Customer Data Platform Institute, David Raab, discusses the primary features of a CDP and how they differ from other solutions.
He also explains why a CDP benefits greatly from the addition of a multi-channel decision management layer, for the consistent coordination of messages from a central orchestration engine. This informative White Paper covers:
- What is a Customer Data Platform and what does it do?
- Why unified data isn't enough
- How CDP data helps coordinate treatments
- The benefits of a CDP plus decision management
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What to look for when seeking a CDP and Decision Management solution
