Finding Hidden Data to Understand Your Audience Better

When we consider personalized print marketing, we consider the name, address, gender, household income, and other simple variables. But is that enough to create highly targeted, relevant campaigns? There are times when you want a richer data set. Before purchasing third-party data, however, take a deeper look in-house. You may have more data than you think.

Let’s look at some of the often underutilized data types.

Transactional data
This data typically includes purchase orders, sales receipts, invoices, payment records, and other financial transactions. Analyzing transactional data can help identify trends, popular products or services, customer buying behavior, and potential upselling opportunities.

Submissions through web contact forms
Web contact forms collect valuable information from customers and website visitors. This data includes inquiries, feedback, support requests, and other messages that provide insights into customer needs, pain points, and preferences.

Business reply cards
Business reply cards (BRCs) are often used in direct mail marketing campaigns, allowing customers to respond to offers, request information, and provide feedback. Analyzing the responses from BRCs can provide insights into the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and the interests of specific customer segments.

Text messaging
Companies that engage in text marketing might need to realize the wealth of data they have. This data includes phone numbers, response rates, and communication preferences. Analyzing text marketing data can help companies optimize their messaging, timing, and targeting for better engagement and conversions.

Responses to email campaigns
Email campaigns contain a wealth of information, such as opens and click-through rates. Analyzing these metrics can help you understand customer engagement levels and interests. Once incorporated back into your marketing database, this information can be used to improve the effectiveness of your email marketing and overall marketing.

Trade shows/events
When companies participate in trade shows or events, they gather a wealth of helpful data. This includes leads generated, customer interactions, survey responses, and attendee feedback. This can help you assess the success of their participation, identify potential clients, and tailor future event strategies.

Customer and Prospect Surveys
Conducting surveys can be a powerful way to gather feedback and insights from customers and prospects. Surveys provide direct information on customer satisfaction, preferences, pain points, and suggestions for improvement.

In conclusion, these data types might sometimes be overlooked but hold valuable insights. Do you have marketing gold right under your feet?  Get out your digging tools and find out!