5 Tips for Finding Patterns in Customer Data
One of the most important aspects of business in today’s world is finding patterns, following trends, and anticipating important changes. Before starting a new marketing campaign, it’s important to understand how customer behavior changes over time. Below are a few ways you can get into this habit when analyzing your own customers’ data.
1. Getting the Right Tools
In this modern world of technology, good marketing and communication tools will help you find the right patterns in customer data. You have to ensure data is controlled and credible to obtain a clear indication of the client’s buying patterns over a specified period. The first step is opening a window in the database and starting a query. Twitter and Facebook can be a useful social media tool for this.
Engaging with clients in real time has become easy thanks to the new tools. For instance, Facebook messenger is becoming a more popular customer service channel. Other tools like Drift allow you to interact with clients as you browse through your site.
2. Asking the Right Questions
First, make sure you are not forcing questions on customers. The first query should be simple and straightforward. For instance, if you operate a store online, you may ask, “in the last year, what is the number of orders you’ve placed online?” You are trying to find out how often the customer places his or her order in one year. Can you find an ascending or descending trend? At what time period does it occur?
3. Consider Client Segments
Go through customer segments that are purchasing items you sell the most and at what point in time. Here you notice the behavior of clients. The behavioral data that you assemble should help you come up with a conclusion about your audience. In addition, find out what they like and what they do not like. Go through the downward and upward trends
4. Look at Upward and Downward Trends
Let us say you sell home goods. When looking at the purchase trends across the customer segment, you realize that bedding purchases went down and towel purchases went up. The pattern gives you a lot of information. You understand that certain customers stopped buying linens and started buying sheets. Subsequently, ask yourself this:
- At what period did the trend start to shift?
- Who is buying at the end of three years that was not buying in the first year?
- Do you notice the trend among certain segments or in all customers?
5. Look at the Patterns
Go through the trends and patterns in the data. Here, you realize which clients are responsible for growth, what they are buying, and what they are likely to purchase. If you realize that forty-year-olds stopped buying towels and started buying beddings, you can compare this with the previous data and establish what they are likely to purchase next.
It is wise to continue with more detailed questions until you get a working pattern. Afterwards, share the trend with your workers. After you have a suitable model, it is possible to make wise choices about what to do next, and include the information you know in the next marketing strategy.
Voice of Customer Tools
Plenty of digital tools allow you to gather visitor feedback, such as Voice of Customer. Clients can tell you what they think about the site while they’re browsing. Collecting and organizing the information can be tough, and that is why you should choose a proper source of customer tools.
The advanced technology, analytics, better client touch points, and behavioral recording tools have made understanding the customer behavior more accessible than ever. The techniques and tips in this article are common ways meant to inspire and inform your client patterns, but you should use them to find what is right for your customers.
