We all know how important it is to create targeted, relevant communications that increase customer engagement and boost sales. That means data, but what kind? There are three types of data, and for the best results, you want a mix of all three.
Demographic Data
This is data that tells you who your customers are. This includes name and address, but also other descriptive information such as age, level of education, household income, and presence of children in the home. In a business context, it might include industry vertical, size of company, and job title.
Behavioral Data
This is data that tells you what your customers do. This includes purchase history, web browsing behavior, channels on which they are most active, and frequency of purchases. Say you send an email campaign promoting three new products, and a subset of recipients clicks on two of them. That’s important behavioral data you can use to follow up.
Third-Party (Interest) Data
This is data that tells you what makes your customers tick. Do they donate to charities? Subscribe to sporting magazines? Support environmental causes? This data enables you to group customers into like-minded thinkers and to target your messaging even more effectively.
What Might This Look Like in Real Life?
Say you are a specialty gift company. You look at your data and find that for certain customers, there is a rhythm to their purchases. In addition to traditional holiday gifting, you might find that Janie purchases candies the first week of September (for her mother’s birthday) and Bob buys flowers the third week in May (for his wedding anniversary). To tap into this rhythm, you set up a triggered direct mail campaign to offer product suggestions and special offers two weeks in advance of when each customer typically buys.
As another example, say you design edgy fashion accessories. You find that a high percentage of your target audience supports organizations that fight for social justice. Knowing this, in your next e-blast you add a special call to action: “Use promo code CARE and we’ll donate 5% of your purchase to your favorite charity!”
Data is a powerful tool in any print or digital campaign, and incorporating behavioral and interest data alongside demographic information enables you to tap into deeper motivations and to encourage a response in ways that you cannot do with demographics alone.