Consumer Data In order to succeed in the world of digital marketing, adopting a data-driven approach is essential. But many businesses focus so much on gathering consumer data that they forget to ensure the data is accurate. Here’s how to make sure the data you collect on your customers is correct.
1. Determine What To Measure
At first, it might seem like gathering as much data as you can is the right approach. But more often than not, this method involves a quantity over quality philosophy. Rather than aiming to get as much data as you can, it’s wise to choose which data points are most critical to your business’s success. From there, you can allocate resources toward ensuring the critical data points you gather are also accurate Consumer Data.
2. Use A Reputable Research Firm
Many businesses, especially large ones, choose to outsource their data collection to a market research firm. Some firms like to advertise a massive market research panel. However, if you want accurate data, do your research! Be sure the firm you choose has thoroughly vetted members of any research panel. That way, you avoid participants who give incorrect information and potentially skew your results Consumer Data.
3. Ensure A Holistic View Of Customers
Gathering isolated types of data has its place, but so does gaining a holistic sense of who your customers are. As you gather data, make sure there’s a way to view each customer individually. When you can see a single person’s data in one place, you’ll get a sense of your customers’ personalities. From there, you can target your advertisements more carefully, leading to increased sales Consumer Data.
4. Make Use Of Visual Analytics
Data points are great, but so are visual maps of customer behavior. If you want to really optimize your website, use analytical tools that will show you how far customers scroll on your page, where they click, and what type of website content resonates with them the most.
5. Use Website Logs
Using multiple tools will help you get a complete picture of your customers, and website logs can be especially useful. Also called server logs, these inexpensive tools keep track of completed page visits, hits, visitor frequency, and total site visits in any given period Consumer Data.
Cookies are great for tracking your customers. But if you want to use them ethically and keep your customers coming back, be sure you have a complete disclaimer on your site informing your visitors what information the cookies gather and how that information will be used. Make sure you avoid collecting information on your customers without their knowledge! And if you use cookies (or any other data collection methods) to collect data on children, take extra care to ensure you aren’t violating laws and standards regarding children’s privacy rights Consumer Data.
7. Monitor Customer Relations
You can also gather data on your customers by keeping track of direct customer relations, namely chats with support teams and any complaints filed. This data is especially accurate because it offers you a direct window into the behavior of your customers. You’ll be able to identify common user problems and complaints and work to resolve them Consumer Data.
8. Use Chatbots To Collect Data
Chatbots also offer you a direct look into customer concerns. Bots are a great way to collect data because they don’t ask a large number of questions at once. Rather, as the customer engages with the bot, he or she answers relevant questions one by one. Notably, this collection method also benefits the customer, as chatbots are typically designed to help customers address issues promptly, even outside of business hours.
9. Allow Customers To Log In Via Facebook
Letting customers sign in via social media isn’t just convenient for them. It also gives you access to data the customer has posted. For instance, when a customer logs in via Facebook, you can access their public data, including email address, phone number, hobbies, marital status, and more.
10. Offer Incentives For Data
You’ll be more likely to get accurate data straight from the consumer if you offer an incentive. For instance, if you want to gather names and email addresses, you can incentivize customers to sign up by entering them in a giveaway or offering a one-time discount.
Also Read : What is Machine Learning? Working and the Future of ML
Bottom Line
Gathering accurate data is a never-ending challenge. But when you have a multi-pronged strategy for getting customer data, you’ll be able to make sure everything you learn is accurate.
