{"id":15720,"date":"2020-10-13T14:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T21:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devwww.3cloudsolutions.com\/post\/boosting-profits-using-a-360-view-of-customer-data-3\/"},"modified":"2023-10-04T15:52:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T22:52:05","slug":"boosting-profits-using-a60-view-of-customer-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/resources\/boosting-profits-using-a60-view-of-customer-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Boosting Profits using a 360\u00b0 View of Customer Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Data about customers is everywhere. It\u2019s locked away on multiple internal systems, external platforms, social media channels, and with outside business partners. To get a truly comprehensive understanding of your customers, you\u2019ll need a modern data solution that can aggregate data from these disparate sources and help you glean powerful insights. The question is, how can we utilize this information in a purposeful manner?<\/p>\n

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Influencing the customer journey with data<\/h2>\n

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1. Consolidate all customer-related data points<\/h3>\n

Chiefly, you will need a system to assemble and store all customer-related data points \u2014 a monumental task in its own right. But in order to fully understand and influence the customer journey, it\u2019s imperative that you gather as many insights as possible.<\/p>\n

The better your data gathering is, the more accurate and insightful the following actions in this sequence will be. The process of consolidating your data sources can take many months and often requires previous experience, but it\u2019s best to start small, refine, and expand your process over time.<\/p>\n

2. Segment your customers<\/h3>\n

Now that you have examined all of your customers\u2019 behaviors from a single vantage point, you can start to segment your customers based on patterns that emerge. These insights are crucial because you can begin to target and interact with different groups based on both their previous and predicted future behavior.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that this sort of segmentation is not a \u201cset-it-and-forget-it\u201d bucketing exercise. As more customer data comes in, your insights will constantly shift. Be on the lookout for how things change over time to ensure your strategy is always based on the most current information available.<\/p>\n

3. Target your best customers<\/h3>\n

Based on data about individual profitability, you can begin to target your most profitable customers with information, offers, and promotions that will encourage them to keep spending with your organizations.<\/p>\n

Over time, you can start to predict which behaviors will lead to high- and low-performing customers early on in the customer journey, helping you boost customer revenue and loyalty as early as possible.<\/p>\n

4. Cross-sell and upsell with insights<\/h3>\n

As you probably know, the majority of your business comes from retaining existing customers. In order to capitalize on best-fit customers, use the data you have to identify opportunities to cross-sell and upsell your products or services. These simple sales activities become all the more effective with the context that a 360\u00b0 data view brings. For example, you can identify areas where a customer\u2019s current solution could be expanded, or reference specific touchpoints that were critical in their overall journey. Over time, you can use this strategy to increase penetration in your customers\u2019 businesses and expand top-line growth.<\/p>\n

5. Retain your customer base<\/h3>\n

Building off the point above, it is critical that you retain your existing customer base to maximize your profits. Using the data and trends from each segment of your customer population, you can begin to understand which groups are more or less likely to stay with your business over time.<\/p>\n

This information can help you determine which customers to focus your retention efforts on based on the overall likelihood of their long-term loyalty and profitability.<\/p>\n

6. Understand Customer Churn<\/h3>\n

Similar to understanding your customer retention, you\u2019ll also want to understand your customer churn. Customer churn<\/em> is the percentage of customers<\/em> that stopped using your company’s product or service during a certain time frame. For a proactive approach, you\u2019ll want to establish a system to score each customer and segment based on the likelihood of them churning. These scores will be informed by historical data about other customers who have followed a similar journey.<\/p>\n

With this scoring system in place, you can take actions to prevent high-scoring customers from churning.<\/p>\n

7. Map the \u201cnext best action\u201d<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, each customer is in a different place in their journey at any given moment. Whether they\u2019ve just joined your contact database or they\u2019ve been working with you for decades, you\u2019ll want to proactively identify the \u201cnext best action\u201d for you to take with each customer.<\/p>\n