It has become crucial for companies to learn how to collect customer data in order to better understand their audience and seize new business opportunities. Consumers expect brands to understand their expectations, anticipate their needs and offer them a shopping experience in line with their habits. Not to mention the central issue of personalization. If not offered by the company, up to 66% of buyers will turn to a competitor.
Nevertheless, collecting data has become increasingly complicated for organizations. users are more concerned about preserving their privacy, and the major digital players (starting with Google) have restricted companies’ room for maneuver (with the announced end of third-party cookies).
How to collect customer data? In this guide, we help you better understand the different types of customer data and how they can help companies optimize their marketing campaigns. We also share 3 effective methods for collecting quality, up-to-date data.
What are the different type of data ?
There are several types of customer data, depending on how it was collected and its marketing focus and usefulness.
Different data sources
Brands can collect data from 4 main sources. These include:
- So-called “zero party data”. It is shared voluntarily by users with companies. For example, it may be colected via a registration form, a sale survey or a marketing game. It is particularly useful to companies because it comes directly from its audience and is therefore more reliable.
- So called “first-party data”. It is collected by the companies themselves from their customers through their use of digital marketing channels. This may include behavioral data (pages visited, products purchased, etc.) collected on their website, via their email marketing campaigns, etc.
- So called “third-party data”. It is collected via third-party source. This may be geolocation or browsing data shared by an application, web browser or search engine. But also data resold by another commercial entity. This can be useful for explaining their data pool to a wider audience. But there is a risk of not complying with data collection regulations, or of acquiring unreliable data.
- Open data is accessible to all. It can come from public sources such as social networks, online forums or public sites. Their main use is to monitor your online reputation or benchmark your market.
The various marketing uses of customer data
- Demographic data. They describe the intrinsic characteristics of buyers. This includes information such as age, gender, profession, education and geographic location. This data is essential for understanding who you’re talking to, and for personalizing your communications.
- Behavioural data. They encompass user behavior (purchases made, emails opened and clicked, etc.). They enable brands to understand how buyers interact with them and adapt their offer and customer experience accordingly.
- Psychographic data. They describe consumers’ personality traits and interests. They can be used to understand customers’ lifestyles and values, so as to create more targeted campaigns.
- Transactional data. They correspond to the transactions carried out by a company’s customers (amount and frequency of purchases, average basket, etc.). For example, they can be used to identify new business opportunities (up-selling, loyalty programs, etc.) to boost the lifetime value (LTV) of each customer.
Why collect data on customers and prospects?
Collecting customer data also makes it it possible to:
- Segment you audience (into different groups of prospects with distinct buying behavior, for example).
- Evaluate and boost customer loyalty (via a personalized purchasing program).
- Predict customer behavior (especially at checkout, by presenting the right information at the right time).
- Optimize your marketing strategy, for example by identifying the rewards most likely to boost participation in a competition.
3 effective data collection methods
In the digital age, however, there are collection methods that are simpler to set up (and systematize), more precise, and also more engaging and ethical for web users.
1. The marketing game
The marketing game is an excellent way of collecting zero and first-party data. Indeed, the interactive animation can be made accessible after filling in a participation form. But the game mechanics themselves can enable companies to find out more about their audience (in the case of a Quiz, for example). The more attractive the prize on offer, the more inclined participants will be to share accurate, up-to-date and qualitative data.
2. The voting campaign
Brands can collect product preferences from their prospects and customers by organizing a voting campaign. This interactive survey allows you to solicit feedback from your community, and thus better understand their expectations (in terms of product design, as well as the purchasing experience). In addition to collecting precise customer data, the voting campaign also shows the audience that the brand cares about their opinion and wants to respond to their needs as effectively as possible.
3. Interactive campaign forms
Interactive campaigns (marketing games, photo or video contests, instant wins online or in-store) are also very useful for collecting customer data. Indeed, the company can make it accessible only to prospects who have previously filled in a data collection form. The latter can also be an excellent opt-in collection tool, enabling the brand to re-engage its leads by sending them personalized communications throughout the year.
Simplify and automate your customer data collection with personalized marketing games. Socialshaker allows you to integrate optimized collection forms into your gaming campaigns, as well as to better segment your clientele in order to communicate more effectively with them!
