We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again until we’re blue in the face: your CRM strategy is only as good as your data.
But, despite this, only about 4% of businesses make effective use of the data at their disposal. So, if you want to get to know your customers, deliver fantastic customer experiences, and set yourself apart from the competition, you need to use your data.
With that in mind, we’ve shared five important data-driven CRM strategies below that are proven to get the results you need. So, read on to find out more about how to use your data to drive your CRM…
5 essential data-driven CRM strategies
1. Audit your data for maximum trust
Do you trust your data? Over one-third of Chief Marketing Officers don’t. But if you’re going to use your data to drive powerful CRM strategies, then that needs to change.
First things first, then, you need to generate a data audit so you can understand the state of your insights, identify areas that you need to improve, and eliminate any mistakes. By doing so, you can ensure that your data is accurate so that you can trust your data to inform the decisions you make and enable you to communicate with your customers in the right way.
Ideally, after your initial data audit, you should regularly cleanse your data too, so that you can continue to make the most out of your data and ensure your database remains current and accurate so that you can continue to deliver powerful, data-driven campaigns.
2. Use your data to segment your customers
So, now you know that you can trust your data, you need to use that data to access crucial insights about your customers so you can analyse their behaviour in order to shape your campaigns.
Data-driven CRM essentially enables you to track your customers’ behaviour and preferences so you can provide them with the best possible service. By using your data to identify patterns, you can segment your customers and begin to predict what they want and need.
The more customer segments you have, the deeper your understanding of your customers will be, and the more powerful your campaigns will be. And let’s face it, the more powerful your campaigns, the bigger the return on investment.
3. Undertake extensive targeting
Once you’ve successfully segmented your customers, you need to start targeting them. In fact, as CMO, one of your main goals will be to reach as much of your target market as possible. And how do you do that? You guessed it – data!
By utilising your data and understanding your different customer segments, you can find out what it is your customers really want, enabling you to deliver clever, targeted, and continuous campaigns that your customers want to engage with, in the right place, at the right time. What does that mean for you as CMO? Increased conversion and decreased churn.
4. Combine science and analysis for a solid data strategy
No customer journey is the same, and all your customers want to feel special. So, if you’re going to understand your customer journeys and figure out what works, you need to use your data to identify customer behaviours and assess the market so you can plan powerful campaigns based on actionable insights.
A modern data strategy brings together all the different elements of your data, combining data science, analytics, first-party data, and insights to create bespoke strategies that get results. It will enable you to analyse trends and review past performance so you can mitigate risk and improve your campaigns for the future.
Plus, your data strategy will enable you to unlock deeper customer profiling, identify customer behaviours, and connect to your customers in a more holistic way, enabling you to create campaigns based on real, actionable insights.
5. Enlist expert help to get the best results
Finally, if you’re going to get the most out of your data and use it power your CRM, it makes sense to work with an expert data agency.
Here at Edit, for example, we always aim to drive demonstrable business value with our data and CRM solutions by turning data into insights that inform award-winning campaigns.
How do we do it? Well, when you enlist the help of our data wizards, we will strip everything back and help you to organise, cleanse, and draw insights from your data. Plus, we’ll also work with our super CRM strategists to create bespoke, data-driven CRM solutions.
The result? A truly end-to-end approach that empowers you to improve sales, increase ROI, and boost customer retention rates.
Need more advice on data-driven CRM?
There’s nothing we don’t know about CRM strategy, so, if you want to speak to our expert team of Editors to find out how we can help you create data-driven strategies that are designed to deliver results, get in touch today.
