Customers expect you to collect their data. That\u2019s half the reason they sign up for a loyalty card. They swipe or scan it every time they make a purchase, and they receive personalized rewards, coupons and discounts, all of which they expect to be tailored to the needs and preferences they\u2019ve shared with you on every previous purchase. <\/p>\n
The key now is to make sure that you are collecting (at minimum) the data customers assume you are already utilizing. One method of doing so is to implement a customer loyalty program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Customer loyalty programs present numerous benefits for marketing and sales, but less commonly referenced is the propensity for such programs to aid companies in collecting actionable data from customer interactions.<\/p>\n Data points that customers expect you to collect are primarily limited to things that, when collected and used at the opportune moments, directly benefit the customer experience.<\/p>\n Name, address, and phone number<\/strong> are all basics that customers are accustomed to providing when making purchases online or when signing up for a loyalty card. <\/p>\n The importance of this information in terms of quality service is that you should ask them for it as infrequently as possible. If a customer who\u2019s done business with you calls about a product support issue, or you call them, then you should be able to identify them by the phone number and simply ask them to confirm their identity without having to awkwardly ask them to again spell out their first and last name, phone number, etc. <\/p>\n Payment methods<\/strong> with online purchases are expected to be tied to a customer\u2019s account. <\/p>\n Whether this means your ecommerce website has its own user account system or rely on PayPal integration online purchases, users prefer to re-enter their credit card information as little as possible. This is both due to convenience, and a lingering security concern in the back of their mind. <\/p>\n Purchase history<\/strong> is something customers mentally link to the primary purpose of loyalty cards.<\/p>\n The customers signed up for the card anticipating the cash rewards and discounts you offered them with it. When it comes to discounts and coupons, customers don\u2019t want coupons for things they\u2019ll never buy. Data on past purchases and preferences allows you to specialize coupons for specific customer interests<\/a> to maximize their satisfaction. One of the main benefits of tracking this data is that purchase history can help you identify fringe products a customer has not purchased yet, but may be interested in with a little encouragement (think coupons or limited time discount codes).<\/p>\n Locations<\/strong> of customer purchases can be used to identify the exact store that a customer is most likely to visit regularly. <\/p>\n Using location history, you can market location specific discounts and promotions to individual customers. This has the double bonus of helping you make sure the right portions of your customer base are getting region specific marketing, which increases sales by fostering a more personal relationship. <\/p>\n Customer support calls<\/strong> usually cover topics like troubleshooting, security, or allow for necessary transactions. None of which are typically enjoyable for the customer. <\/p>\n But if all your customer identification data, loyalty data, and previous support call data are collected in one place, then you can expedite the process and be better prepared to provide the customer with a solution. This improves the quality of the call and service in solving the customer\u2019s problem, which conversely makes customers more loyal. <\/p>\n Collecting and utilizing call data may even lower the costs of support by minimizing the amount of time spent verifying identity, explaining past customer support calls, and repeatedly verifying issue specifications. <\/p>\nData Customers Expect You to Collect<\/h3>\n
Data Customers Won\u2019t Mind You Collecting<\/h3>\n