[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#Article","articleBody":"Customer data management deserves more credit in conversations about growth. So, you\u2019re ready to tap into your well of customer data and use it to drive next-level business revenue. You recognize the value of incorporating customer data management best practices. And you understand the value of customer data management \u2013 maybe you\u2019ve even made the case for why your company should invest in a robust customer data platform.\nNow, it\u2019s on you to bring those growth strategies to life. Where do you start? Here are just a few strategies for unlocking sustainable growth through customer data.\nCustomer data management: Know thy customer\nHow well do you actually know your customers? At the very least you should be able to spout off a hit-list of demographic information \u2013 average age, geographic location, and so on. Maybe you have an idea of what they do for a living and some insights into that industry. But beyond that, many companies tend to fall off.\nThese days, that doesn\u2019t cut it. We have so much customer data at our fingertips, and customers know it. Not just that, they\u2019ve seen how sharing their data can lead to amazing customer experiences and have set that as the expectation. This level of customer savvy is fairly new and puts a different type of pressure on businesses.\nNow, customers are paying attention to the business choices you make and expect them to be thoughtful and informed. Not just based on market trends, but on\u00a0them, and their wants and interests.\nBrands that use their data and customer data management best practices to really understand their audiences are going to come out ahead.\n \nThe ultimate guide to customer experience: Definition, strategy, examples\n   Here's everything you need to know about customer experience. Find out what it takes to make your brand shine and win.  \nEffective customer data management goes beyond tracking and storing bits of data about your customers. Done right, it actually teaches you about your customers \u2013 both on an individual and macro level. And in doing so, it may even teach you about your company, and how to grow it.\n3 strategies for unlocking growth via customer data management\nDriving business growth by knowing your customer sounds good, but what does it look like?\nHere are three examples of how you can put your plethora of data to use.\nUpsell and cross-sell more effectively\nGo beyond demographics with behavioral segmentation\nIdentify potential partnerships and expansion opportunities\nCustomer data management best practices\nThe brilliant secret is that you can start to employ customer data management best practices today. It\u2019s common sense, attention to detail related to your customer and their data. Do these 3 things and you are on your way:\nDefine your customer\u2014Really dig into who you want your customer to be\nUnify your data\u2014Simplify things by creating a single place for your data\nClean your data\u2014Monitor your data and your definition of your customer, this persistent focus will drive insights.\nUpsell with insight\nUpselling and cross-selling are often the first strategies businesses look at to drive revenue, and for good reason. In general, it\u2019s easier and less expensive to sell to established customers than scouting out new ones. There\u2019s an established trust and rapport, and you already know what products or services they\u2019ve purchased. Good customer data will only make this tried-and-true growth more effective.\nBusinesses have used purchase insights to drive cross-sell and upsell opportunities for decades. In the 90\u2019s, British grocery chain Tesco discovered that men who bought diapers at their stores were also likely to buy beer (they could only speculate as to the reason, but they had plenty of theories). I can\u2019t confirm whether that impacted where they placed those items in the store or informed future offers. But I can confirm that a decade later, we were talking about those potential outcomes in at least one college advertising class.\nThe point is that sometimes, data can uncover patterns we wouldn\u2019t come to on our own, intuitively. Regardless of whether Tesco decided to stock the beer and diapers in relation to each other, it\u2019s safe to say no one would have even considered that line of thinking without the data.\nToday, it\u2019s easier than ever for businesses to uncover those hidden patterns. Customer data management tools that use machine learning and artificial intelligence can see trends that the human eye (and intuition) would otherwise miss. From a customer\u2019s purchase history to complaints to social chatter, you never know where the next surprising connection will come from.\nThat could open the door to some big upsell and cross-sell opportunities.\nPersonalize based on behavior\nThese days, personalization is everything. And of course, you can\u2019t personalize your customers\u2019 experience if you don\u2019t have a way of understanding your customers. So if you\u2019re looking for ways to grow your business, it\u2019s worth looking at your personalization strategy. When was the last time you approached it with fresh eyes? Are you using your customer data to its full potential for a truly integrated and deeply personal customer experience?\nIf not, what you\u2019re calling personalization may not feel all that personal to your customers. And shallow segmentation may be to blame.\nTraditional segmentation focuses primarily on geographic and demographic data. It lets you group audiences and personalize communications or offers based on their age range, where they live, etc. Advances in customer data management have unlocked a more in-depth approach: behavioral segmentation.\nBehavioral segmentation focuses on how your customers engage with your company, products and services. What words are they using to search through your products? What products are they comparing to each other? (Both of which could indicate what, specifically, they\u2019re looking for.) How often are they browsing? Buying?\nThese insights tell you much more about the customer than their age and hometown ever could.\nOr, as one excellent explanation put it:\n\u201cPrince Charles and Mick Jagger are both British men who are about the same age \u2013 and if that\u2019s all you knew about them, you might try to show them the same product recommendations. Of course, if you knew a little more about them, or understood their past buying behaviors, you\u2019d offer them completely distinct experiences.\u201d\nUsing a customer data platform to collect and analyze behavioral data \u2013 as well as demographic, social, and every other type of customer data you have \u2013 will make your personalization much more effective, and profitable.\n \nIs it easy for consumers to buy from you? How customer identity management can help\n   Customer identity management matters because requiring customers to log in each time they visit an e-commerce site or interact with your brand can erode CX, reduce conversions, and push customers toward competitors with easier authentication processes.  \nIdentify future opportunities\nUsing data to understand your customers on a deeper, more human level offers can also open the door to future growth opportunities. At the very least, you can use your data to predict which growth strategies make the most sense for your current base.\nWhen you go beyond identity and descriptive data and get into more qualitative or attitudinal data, you can learn a lot about what\u2019s important to your customers. Good customer data management lets you do just that.\n \nTypes of customer data: Definitions, value, examples\n   Types of customer data serve distinct purposes. Identity data, descriptive data, attitudinal data, behavioral data defined with examples.  \nThose insights can be really powerful. Think about it: what if you began to notice that a huge swath of your customers is really passionate about sustainability? What if you were a sneaker company that realized more customers were wearing your shoes casually as a fashion choice, not just for working out?\nNo matter how well you know your products and services, it will pay off to understand how your customers use them, and what is most important to them.\nIt may even lead to some creative and surprising partnerships.\nKnowledge is power\nWhenever you\u2019re tasked with making a big impact \u2013 when the pressure is on and you know people are watching \u2013 it\u2019s tempting to hurry up and run towards your next big milestone. But the most effective strategies are thoughtful and based on valuable data and insights. That\u2019s the true value of customer data management best practices. It grants you access to information and insights to drive more effective business decisions.\nSo start by working with your data. What can it teach you about where your business can go? Then listen, and act accordingly.\nReal-time insights. Across all touchpoints. Yes. For real. See the demo HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Emily_Kelly-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Emily Morrow","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/emkmorrow","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/emilykmorrow\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/emily-kelly\/"},"dateModified":"2021-08-06T18:24:40+00:00","datePublished":"2021-06-08T08:01:03+00:00","description":"Looking for ways to drive growth and revenue through customer data management? Learn the customer data management best practices.","headline":"How customer data management can unlock growth and power revenue","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/UnprescentedGrowth_1200x375-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/","name":"How customer data management can unlock growth and power revenue","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/06\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How customer data management can unlock growth and power revenue","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/08\/customer-data-management-grows-revenue\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]