Retailer, test yourself – How much do you know about your customers?

What do you already know?

When you start thinking about it, there’s some stuff you know, for sure. For example, you might know that the store is busiest between 5 and 6 pm. You also know what products the majority of your customers like, by measuring which ones are your best sellers. And you might know that the majority of your customers are women between the age of 20 to 40. 

But – are insights like these enough to provide personalized offerings to every single customer who shops online or in your physical store? Unfortunately not. And personalized communication is crucial in a highly competitive field. The customers expect you to know what they want and need – or they will find someone who does. But wait, how do you collect this kind of data? Through a CDP. 

Do you know these things about your customers?

To communicate with your customers the right way, you need to know what they like and what they appreciate. 

So test yourself – do you know the following things about your customers? If not, you should find out in order to get to know the customers. It will definitely help you!

• Interests – If the customer shopped online, you should try to grasp their behavior on the website. What did they look at? Did they leave or remove anything from the cart? By knowing what they’re interested in, you will understand what you should focus on in your communication with them. 
• The average amount spent – by defining how much the customer spends on average, you will be able to recommend products in that price range.
• The number of returns – Are they the king or queen of returns? If so, maybe you shouldn’t send them campaigns and recommendations since it will only cost you plenty in delivery fees. But also use this information to look over the product information regarding the products that are frequently returned – are you providing the correct measurements, product description, and pictures of the product?
• Opening rate – How do they feel about emails? If you see a low opening rate, you can use A/B tests on different subject lines to increase the opening rate. But remember, the opening rate actually doesn’t matter that much if the click-through rate isn’t increasing. CTR is even more important than the opening rate, so use A/B testing to increase that as well.
• A highly valued customer – This is important stuff. Customers who are your true ambassadors and keep coming back should get some special treatment! Show that you appreciate them, and they will like you even more. But make sure you know the frequency of their purchases, to make sure you don’t spam them. 
• New vs. returning customers – What is your percentage of returning customers? Do you know what sets your brand apart from others, that lead to your customers coming back? When you know these motivators, you can continue to improve them – and you may have just opened the gate to a gold mine.

Read more: How to work with predictive marketing in retail 

The secret to personalized communication is to know the customer well enough to speak directly to them, without being pushy or invading their privacy. To find that important balance, spend some time getting to know your customers!