Data Strategy Detail: Customer First


Yesterday we talked about how to make faster business decisions and how our data strategy will enable that.  Today we will look at another path a data strategy can take you on, being customer-centric.

The Customer.  In some organizations defining a customer is very hard.  Sure you have people that buy stuff from you but do you need to differentiate between an internal customer and an external customer?  And if you do the definition of INTERNAL can also get complicated.  And what about the type of customer, one who buys products from you, one who buys services from you, and one who buys both?  Do the different types of customers merit different sales approaches or different incentives?  Which one is more profitable?  Which one is harder to meet their expectations?  When you have a conversation about customers you are diving into a black hole of uncertainty if you do not have a data strategy.  Remember the data strategy is what unites the business purpose with the technology.  By building out the data strategy you FORCE the business to zero in on customer and what goals they have.  

So if the customer is so important how can our data help the business progress towards their goals? Data is the starting point to become more customer-centric. By collecting and analyzing data about your customers, you can gain insights into their needs, preferences, and behaviors. This information can then be used to improve your products and services, create more personalized marketing campaigns, and deliver better customer service.

What are some practical steps that can help you become more customer-centric?

  • Collect data from a variety of sources. The more data you have about your customers, the better. This includes data from your website, CRM system, social media, and other channels.
  • Clean and organize your data. Once you have collected your data, you need to clean and organize it so that it is easy to analyze. This may involve removing duplicate data, correcting errors, and grouping similar data together.
  • Use data analytics to gain insights into your customers. There are a variety of data analytics tools available that can help you analyze your data and identify trends. This information can be used to understand your customers' needs and preferences, identify opportunities to improve your products and services, and target your marketing campaigns more effectively.
  • Use data to personalize your interactions with customers. You can use data to personalize your interactions with customers in a variety of ways. This includes sending targeted marketing messages, recommending products or services that they are likely to be interested in, and providing personalized customer service.  As a side note here, be careful with this step.  You do not want to appear to be the stalking ex who just cannot let go.  
  • Make data-driven decisions. Data should be used to inform all of your decisions about your business, from product development to marketing to customer service. By using data to make decisions, you can ensure that you are always putting the customer first.

By following these data strategies, you can become more customer-centric and improve your business results.

There are also some data policies that can come out of this data strategy that can help your organization focus on the customer. These policies and practices should be advertised to the organization so that everyone knows how to focus on customers correctly. By evangelizing these things the organization will also understand how serious customer interactions are and how to value the data assets correctly.

  • Set clear goals for your data collection and analysis. What do you hope to learn from your data?  How do you think it will improve customer interaction.  Do not collect sensitive data just to have it on hand.  There are technical and social costs to having this data so use it well.
  • Make your data accessible.  This does not mean that you leave it unsecure.  But once an individual shows a need to access this data do not hide it.  This asset will only produce results if people are using it. 
  • Use data to make decisions.  This cannot be stated enough.  Many times when dealing with decision makers who have spent years working with people their inclination is to assume that they know the customer.   Many times they only know a slice of the customer and basing decisions on part of the population usually alienates the rest of the group.  Look at the data before your react and you will end up finding the middle ground. 
  • Be transparent.  This goes back to the earlier comment about social cost.  If you do not let your customer know about how you collect and use their data, the backlash could prove fatal to your organization.  By being transparent you set expectations up front with your customer you will help put them at ease with how you are using the data.

A proper data strategy can align with the business goal of becoming more customer-centric. When it does the customer will get an experience that will turn them into a repeat customer. As that happens you will know that your data strategy has found success.

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