The Customer Data You Didn't Know You Needed

You must be thinking quotWait what There39s more customer data to considerquotActually yes But don39t hyperventilate It39s not necessary to overwhelm your data warehouse CRM system or marketing automation platform with reams of additional information It is however essential to think differently about the types of customer data beyond demographics and behavior amp8212 such as location affinity and values amp8212 that you can use to connect with today39s demanding yet fickle consumers This information may just be the customer data you didn39t know you needed until you test itThink about your own behaviors You may not quotact your agequot or follow gender stereotypes when it comes to your viewing or listening habits Based on my demographics for example you might expect me to watch one of the Real Housewives series instead you39ll find me viewing crime shows and baseball gamesHere are several examples of illuminating data types that can inform your marketing strategy and media buying decisionsLocationBased DataLocation isn39t just about where someone is it39s also about understanding who someone is by knowing where they go and spend their time Overlay that information with demographic and viewership data and you get a clearer picture of your audience which allows for a more relevant conversation at scaleIf for instance two people go to Madison Square Garden but one is seeing Disney on Ice and the other is attending a New York Rangers ice hockey game this says a great deal about their interests Similarly quotif someone searches for wine that39s a valid signal But someone who goes to a wine tasting class amp8230 or vineyard tour amp8212 that39s a water cooler conversation the next dayquot Gravy Analytics chief executive officer Jeff White said at a recent DMCNY event Beyond Demographics quotIf a brand can intersect my passion with a recent and relevant experience that39s when the magic happensquotAffinity DataIf a consumer spends her free time say using an auto manufacturer39s online tool to soup up her favorite sports car sharing the final design on social and then reading reviews on that car and its competitors targeting her with minivan ads would most likely be a wasted spendThat information can be hard to come by for individuals but it39s possible to scale that type of customer knowledge by understanding affinities among specific cohorts For instance ad agency Episode Four asked 100000 Americans quotIf you had extra time or money how would you spend itquot And then prompted respondents with 300 difference genres of activities and items amp8212 everything from podcasts to TV to wine to shopping amp8212 to help them make selections The agency also collected 25 different demographic data points such as age income and political affiliation The findings were full of surprises Mark Himmelsbach Episode Four39s founding partner pointed out during the DMCNY event Consider this Among ultrahighnetworth individuals those with at least 10 million in investable assets golf was polarizing half hate it and half love it That39s an important consideration if a brand was thinking of sponsoring or advertising during a golf tournamentValues DataToday more than ever before consumers make purchases that align with their values This often translates to a consumer purchasing a brand because of a shared value such as caring about the environment or being adventurous Shared values are also a data set that scalesAccording to David Allison author of quotWe39re All the Same Age Now The End of Demographicamp160Stereotypesquot consumers who share values agree far more often than consumers within such age groups as baby boomers and millennials Research he conducted among 400000 consumers globally showed that baby boomers agree on anything from values to needs and wants to expectations only 13 percent of the time for millennials that drops to 11 percent quotHow can we target them We can39t They39re not a groupquot Allison asserts adding that the same holds true for demographic attributes such as gender income and marital statusConsumers who share values such as quotadventurousquot or quotfriendshipquot or quotsafetyquot are much more likely to agree with each other and thus be targeted as a cohort Allison cited three archetypes as examples Adventure Club consumers agree 89 percent of the time Super Savers agree 76 percent of the time and Tech Fellowship consumers agree 81 percent of the timequotWhat we value determines what we doquot Allison said during the DMCNY eventConnecting on a Deeper LevelIf you39re making media buys you may be thinking of your audience in broad demographic swaths If you39re going for a more direct approach you may be using lookalike models to define your audience getting down to finer grains of detail based on attributes such as past behaviors As effective as these approaches might be for meeting campaign goals they can get even better when you layer on data that hints at intentionSo the next time you39re planning a campaign or mapping out a media buy consider what else you can learn about your audience that will help you target those most likely to become top customers with messaging that will resonate with them Knowing who your audience is beyond being 1834 or 2549 will give you a distinct advantage in speaking to consumers with the relevancy they now expectClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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The Customer Data You Didn't Know You Needed

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Ginger Conlon

Powerful New PSAs Showcase the Mutual Rewards and Unconditional Love of Adoption from Foster Care - Ad Council InSites

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The Customer Data You Didn't Know You Needed

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Ginger Conlon

Powerful New PSAs Showcase the Mutual Rewards and Unconditional Love of Adoption from Foster Care - Ad Council InSites

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