Five data-driven benefits to be thankful for

As 2020 approaches its final month and the reflections start to emerge on the complexities, challenges and pitfalls the year has posed to businesses, there are positives to reflect on. The ‘Era of COVID’ has forced many businesses to rely on their innovation and ingenuity, perhaps more so in identifying, understanding, engaging and motivating their customers. For many brands, data intelligence has been the primary driver of this, largely to a greater extent than ever before.

Taking a data-driven approach to build the business on a foundation of evidential intelligence is delivering an array of advantages. Here are five data-driven benefits to be thankful for:

Data Organization

Many brands are using this time to inventory, organize and synthesize their data sources and information streams. With upwards of 400 sources producing data in the average company, from point-of-sale systems and product review sites to social media platforms and surveying software, there is a spectrum of disparate data sources that are infinitely more valuable when they are organized and integrated.

Empowering Evidence

This organization and integration of data provides a powerful foundation of evidence that can be distributed across the organization to every team. This not only allows for the entire operation to be working off the same intelligence and assumptions, but also empowers these teams in how they devise their strategies, develop tactics, deliver engagements and drive innovation.

Customer Understanding

While the complexity of customers has never been higher given their digital savviness, the technical tools available and the evolving real-time changes and limitations in the market, there has never been more insight available to brands to understand these customers. Intelligence capital, which the Market Research Society defines as “the information, evidence and insight an organization collectively assesses, circulates and acts upon” is basically the data-driven evidence that facilitates a deep, holistic understanding of customer preferences, behavior and engagements.

Personalized Engagements

Having this understanding built on the foundation of intelligence capital allows for brands to deliver robust and relevant engagements that motivate the customer. These in-turn can build affinity and drive loyalty with a focus on ultimately cultivating evangelism for the brand in the customer’s heart and mind. An organized intelligence capital approach allows for this in a manner that is increasingly powerful for the brand.

Achieving Customer Centricity

Today, most businesses are largely focused on attempting to embrace a customer centricity methodology in order to deliver meaningful experiences and build powerful loyalty with customers. Embracing this intelligence capital approach is helping these businesses achieve a genuine customer centric approach built on a data-driven foundation of evidence. This further empowers every department across the organization to place the customer as a central consideration in their strategies, tactics, engagements and innovations.

So, while there are many frustrations related to the COVID challenges of 2020, brands are finding several data-driven dimensions to be thankful for to understand their customers, empower their organizations and effectively grow their business.