Everyone is abuzz over the ‘new’ Big Data trend and while most companies are floundering to analyze the data they already have, not to mention the data they have yet to capture, some big brands are setting the bar of customer analytics excellence pretty high.
So what are these brands doing right? Have they identified the proper analytics people to exploit their data in a useful way instead of falling prey to the skills-gap issues that plague other companies? Is it the data itself – what they are analyzing, when and how much? Or are they just internally and departmentally sound and settled thus allowing them to look at the big picture of Big Data?
When companies can look at their data and deduce the relationships between the data sets, it’s the customers that are reaping the immense benefits. To take a big data for marketing example, I’ve been a card holder at a particular clothing store since 2004. Because I’m spending money with their credit card they are easily able to track my purchase frequency, what departments I shop in, and can predict what I am likely to buy in the future. What this means for me is tailor-made marketing including rewards and discounts I’ll actually use. It’s not just the credit card data; they are looking at my social media habits too. I ‘like’ their page on Facebook and by pairing my profile information with my city, and crossing that with my credit card billing information and spending, they sent me an email that my local mall was having a sale on sweaters and gave me a discount if I want to take advantage of the sale. Result – they are getting more of my business than before.
By having the internal people and processes in place to analyze credit card data, spending patterns, buying personas, likes and dislikes, this brand is using targeted marketing to make their customers feel like valued individuals. I hope they continue to close the loop with staff interactions that are as targeted as their marketing. And at the end of the day isn’t it the complete customer experience (marketing, sales, post-sale) we all want with our brands?
Here are some examples of customers that have been on the receiving end of good Big Data:
“I purchased a home theater projector from your company two years ago and yesterday got an email reminding me that my bulb was close to burning out and I should think about ordering another. I went online to order the bulb and based on my full name and my projector make and model you identified the exact bulb I needed and automatically put it in my shopping cart. I didn’t have to search your site or call customer service!”
“An incentive for signing up for your service was a $300 rebate card that would be sent to me 90 days after the initial install. I started thinking I should call and see what’s going on with my rebate when I got a call on my cell phone (my preferred method of contact) letting me know the rebate had been mailed and I could track the package online.”
“I recently received and email from your company telling me it was time for me to upgrade my product and included a discount to do so. Looks like someone’s been keeping good tabs on their customers!”
Happy Wednesday!
