[Best CRM Software] Here’s how you manage your customer database

Though we say “data is king”, there’s simply too much data floating around. While customer data is crucial for branding, sales, marketing, promotions and basically getting the message across, it’s important to harness the data you receive and turn it into something useful.

Every day, businesses receive a mind-boggling amount of data, but much of the data isn’t used as effectively as it should have been. Unknown and unused data, known as dark data, takes up more than half of the data collected by companies, and that’s actually quite a lot. Each day, we create up to 7.5 septillion (7,700,000,000,000,000,000,000) gigabytes, and imagine 3.75 septillion not being used. That’s quite a lot of data going dark. 

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Bit of a shocker, wasn’t it? 

Now, let’s go through how you can make the best out of your data, and what to look for in a CRM software. 

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Customer Data…? What data? What’re we gathering?

Customer data isn’t just another fancy eCommerce term. It means any piece of information about who your customers are and how they are using your product or service. Essentially, it’s what individual customers bought, what they clicked or viewed, and what information they’ve provided. 

There are different platforms nowadays that help businesses collect the data they need. Instead of relying on humongous platforms like SAP or Oracle, you can choose from a whole range of niche players. Besides, social media channels like Facebook lead ads, WhatsApp conversations or even QR codes can be a data source. We’ll discuss this later in this article. 

Data on its own offers minimal value as it’s just figures basically, so it helps to dig deeper into the types of data and how to make the most out of what you collect:

Basic data

This type offers the fundamental understanding of your customer. It includes contact number, email address, job title, gender, income and so forth. Once you have enough basic data, you can start segmenting your customers and creating dedicated CRM campaigns. 

Interaction data

This looks into your brand’s different touchpoints and how receptive your customers are to them. For example, knowing how many page views your campaign minipage gets, or how many people downloaded your catalog will give you an idea of whether your marketing efforts are successful. 

Behavioral data

This refers to the customer experience with your product or service, including shopping cart content, time of purchase, invoices, conversions, sign-ups and even deactivation.

Attitudinal data

Unlike the first 3 types that deal more with the ‘transactional’ side of things, this type shows what your customers are really thinking. Reviews, ratings, customer support tickets, surveys are all great sources of attitudinal data. 

We’ve got more examples of making the most out of customer data. Stay put and read till the end!

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How useful is customer data?

Here are a few reasons why gathering customer data is your next priority item:

Assess product fit

Customer data lets you track whether customers are interested in your business day over day. If your retention trends towards zero, your product may be a mismatch with your intended customer base. Likewise, if sales and retention trends are positive, your product is more likely competitive. 

Evaluate sales funnels

Do you know how your customers find you? What are they interested in? Do they sign up for your newsletter or watch the YouTube videos you posted? Are they responding to your sales campaign, or are they just buying the regular items? These are some of the questions customer data can help you answer. 

Optimize services

With data showing who your customers are, you can provide personalized and segmented services. Your representatives can suggest products, initiate conversations and launch customized campaigns for your customers, while getting real-time feedback from them. This way, you can stand out in the crowd by that extra bit of service. 

Predict trends

Customer data can help you predict your traffic and performance projection, such as pricing, sales volumes, conversion by segment and retention. This is particularly useful before big sales seasons like Black Friday, Christmas, anniversary or Easter. 

Grow your base

You have segmented your customers, know what they want and have a good idea of what is ahead. Now, with the right data set, you can identify sales opportunities, offer relevant and relatable goods and set the right advertising effort. This way, you can be sure to attract and retain customers and see your base grow. 

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Where to store customer data?

Customer data is excellent, but without a good place to store and systemize it, it’s just a bunch of meaningless numbers. So, to make actual use of your insights and not let them lay waste with the 3.75 septillion gigabyte-pile, you need to create a customer database. 

A customer database is an interactive contact list that stores valuable information about your customers, like email addresses, demographics, preferences, and sales history. It will let you view and analyze everything on one platform, together with different insights and dashboards. 

A good customer database will allow you to build rapport with your customers, inform them of product updates and seasonal promotions, and show you how they’re making their decisions. With the correct information, your customers will no longer be just cold contacts behind a screen - they instantly become living individuals just like in a physical store. 

Learn how to set up your customer data:

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