Articles

Figure 1: As simple as it gets!

Too many businesses spend a huge amount of their marketing budget on research. Most times this is unnecessary because research should be used as a secondary supporting step....basically don't do what you should last, first! Many businesses large or small have fallen victims to research companies convincing them that they can tell them something they don't already know through research, qualitative and quantitative. I am not against research, but I think this should be used appropriately, at the right time in the right place. Use it more to support, prove or disprove something you already know. Emphasis on “already know” . So where do you find something you already know? Yep, it’s not rocket science I know, it’s from something you already have; YOUR DATA. This can be stored on sophisticated customer databases or simple Access databases and yes sometimes on spreadsheets! Challenge yourself next time; if you want to know what your customers look like, go to your database; if you want to know what your prospects look like, go to your database, if you want to develop a strategy for growth and new business, go to your database first and foremost! Even if you think you have 'crap' or poor quality captured data, it can tell you more than you know. Your data is more powerful than you think, listen to it! It’s the voice of your customers now and for the future. I’m not particularly a fan of “research” as the first step in understanding who the customers are or could be or what they want or not want. Very often these answers are obvious. I get freaked out when I’m in a business meeting and we get into a discussion about who we should target with a new product, for example, and the first suggestion ironically agreed by all is, let’s approach the “research” team. Why? I often ask? Surely your research in this instance should be to support, affirm, or disprove your hypothesis derived from what you already know? But what is it that you know? After all the old acquisition saying that it’s more expensive to recruit new customers than to engage your existing customers. So why do you think a new product line is likely to appeal more to a completely different set of customers somewhere out there that you don’t already have or know something about however little? And it’s assumed that research will help you identify them? Research has its place in listening to your data, but it’s not the first thing you should do when your customer database is literally screaming at you. Your customers tell you something every single time they make contact with you. They made an enquiry? Made a purchase? Called your call centre? Wrote you a letter? Liked you on Facebook? Complained on Twitter? Told you not to send them any more marketing materials? The list goes on and on and on and on…..! Does it take time to get to listen to them? Maybe?.... Is it possible to? Certainly? ….Expensive? Most certainly?....Expensive always? No! You need to be passionate about your customers enough to invest in the right database, right data capturing systems, right data quality tool, enabled and trained front line staff, equipped and talented analytics team. I believe the art of listening successfully to your DATA is through the art of employing powerful analytics (in people and software) that enables you respond on time!