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How to Use Your Customer Data During Times of Uncertainty

No matter what industry you are in, 2020 has taught us a lot. For marketers, many of those lessons can be applied going forward no matter what gets blown in on the ever-changing future wind, especially in relation to using customer data.

In the months – and years – to come, businesses will need to be fluid and know how to pivot quickly in order to survive. Those pivots will be a lot easier with a deep understanding of who your customers are and what they expect from you. Read on for five ways to use your customer data during times of uncertainty.

1. Segmentation is key.

Not everyone who arrives at your website will interact with it in the same way. And some may visit your site many times before taking any action and others act after their first visit. Knowing how your website visitors interact with your site is only the first step. You also need to segment those website users based on their behaviors.

Once you understand how each segment interacts with your site you can carefully adjust your messaging and content offerings to meet each segment’s needs — understanding and reflecting the fact that different users feel differently about the current health situation.

2. Analytics will help you unlock the data.

Google analytics is one of your best friends in understanding what your site visitors – aka potential customers – are thinking. In normal times, your web analytics data lets you unlock the cipher of intentions that leads to a sale. During times of uncertainty, that data may change dramatically. Site visitors may be finding you are using different keywords or visiting different pages on your site.

An in-depth understanding of how new patterns represent opportunity will help you craft new content and shape your product and service lines.

3. Understand the psychographics revealed by your customer data.

Web site data isn’t the only place you can turn to learn more about your customers. Psychographics give us a wealth of knowledge about how to message your customers in uncertain times, providing in-depth look at the media they trust, their attitudes and expectations as well as predictions about the actions they may take. The right marketing firm can access and utilize the data points to help you provide the right messages at the right time.

4. Find your patterns.

Your own transactions and ecommerce data are powerful tools that can be mined for patterns and predictions. Is a particular product selling better – or worse – because of the current situation. Those patterns can be extrapolated to provide a clear picture of how your customers are thinking and feeling.

5. Integrate with overall trends.

Your own data isn’t the only place to track trends and discover patterns. There are several places to turn where complex algorithms coalesce public activities and interests into what can become actionable information with powerful possibilities. Google Trends as well as social media hashtags and trend reports provide a clear window into what the public is thinking about and focusing on and – most importantly – what they are doing about it.

When it comes to understanding these patterns, it’s not what you know – it’s what you do about it. A nimble marketing team can generate content in the form of blog posts and web updates that maximize your share of the market, bringing eyes to your website and dollars to your bottom line.

The right partner at the right time.

If you’d like to explore a partnership with a marketing firm poised to help you use your customer data in these uncertain times, click here to arrange a free consultation with MindEcology and their team of data scientists and marketing artists.

analytics, big data, customer data, customer segmentation, segmentation