Solve the Mystery of Your Audience With Advanced Analytics, Targeting, and Data-Management Tools!

Did you know that 69 percent of mobile users currently do some form of banking on their phones? Customers rely on you to provide them with optimized experiences that fit their preferences and contexts — but without jeopardizing their sensitive information. The good news is that customers are leaving hints everywhere regarding their needs and desires — such as why they’re calling your branch, how they use your mobile app, or what page they visit on your website.

Unfortunately, despite all of this rich information, financial institutions struggle to find meaning within their data. In fact, of the 83 percent of finance executives who say their firm’s data is their most strategic asset, 47 percent claim they don’t know how to employ it to drive value. These statistics make perfect sense. Old and siloed systems make it challenging to unify mismatched datasets that have been gathered from mobile devices, websites, branches, and call-center interactions. How can your organization thrive in this challenging environment? It all boils down to data-driven marketing. You have to transform your data into actionable intelligence and then wow your customers with rich experiences that keep them coming back for more. With new analytics and data-management capabilities, you can do just that. Where should you start? Keep reading!

Read Your Customers’ Minds.
Use data to create personalized experiences for your audiences. Customer interactions leave behind hints, creating digital fingerprints that can be analyzed for an abundance of information — right down to what your customers are doing or even how they’re feeling at that very moment. A recent survey found that 53 percent of millennial audiences claim that their banks don’t offer services that are any different from other banks. To differentiate your brand, leverage analytics to better understand your customer and context so you can offer the right product or service at the right time and personalize an experience that meets the needs of your audience.

Remember, when you create a relevant, personalized experience for your customer — one that is based on what your customers are “telling” you that they want — you build trust and brand loyalty.

Put the Pieces Together.
How do you obtain a complete picture of your customer when data is scattered into individually owned channels? You don’t — businesses must share customer information across their organizations and enable business units to collaborate with one another by creating teams of cross-functional experts from different parts of the business and enabling those experts to collaborate with one another. Sharing the same customer data across multiple channels creates a ‘platform’ where data can be aggregated into a single profile or segment ID. The goal is to unite various business units behind a single view of the customer and combine traits from customer-data sources to gain a more accurate, collective view of your customers.

Investigate the Customer Journey.
Data-driven marketing enables you to quickly communicate with your customers across all channels in a relevant manner. Now that you have access to connected, comprehensive customer information, the next step is to match the right offer or content within the context of the interaction and really impress your customer. Linking data from your online and offline channels is crucial to giving your customers the consistent, relevant experiences they desire. For example, let’s say that a customer is looking at auto-loan information on your website. Automatically sending him an email or direct-mail offer about auto loans is a great way to grab his attention and continue the conversation — and all automated based on his browsing behavior. The ability to personalize your customer experience is a vital factor standing between someone remaining loyal to your brand — or not.

Keep an Eye on Things.
Having an understanding of your customers’ behaviors and preferences is key, but it is equally important to measure performance and look for ways to optimize the customer experience. It is critical that you monitor marketing performance and your customers’ behaviors during their interactions with your brand, using analytics and data-optimization capabilities.

One capability to consider is anomaly-detection, which allows you to automatically see when an event doesn’t follow a set pattern. If your website bounce rate is increasing, the anomaly-detection feature will alert you. From there, contribution analysis can be applied to all of the factors potentially causing this particular issue so it can be fixed.

Additionally, advanced analytics, machine learning, and algorithmic attribution allow you to see how each marketing touch guides the customer’s journey toward conversion. The customer journey can be synchronized and personalized so every need is met at just the right moment. Experience metrics, solid reporting capabilities, and clean data keep you in step with your customer journey.

Act on Facts — Not Hunches.
Data-driven marketing allows you to eliminate the guesswork and act on actual facts. Respond to what you know about your customers’ preferences, interests, and behaviors. Bridge the gap between insights and actions so you can respond to your customers along any part of their journeys. Real-time analytics allow you to see how your customers are engaging with your brand in real time. This data is rich with possibilities and can be used to personalize content and optimize offers at the exact second your customer needs them. You can then analyze the data to determine what works and what doesn’t and quickly make the necessary changes. The goal is to constantly improve your marketing techniques while engaging your customers in perpetually enriched, real-time, personalized experiences.

Take Action!
You don’t have to rely on data scientists or the information technology (IT) department to decode the clues your customers are leaving you. Data-driven marketing tools are available to allow you to use your data to its fullest potential. Invest in the right products and capabilities — use advanced analytics, targeting, and data-management tools to blow your customer away with an immersive, personalized, real-time experience. It’s easier than you think.

To learn more about decoding your customer’s clues, read the white paper: Customer Clues. Solve the Mystery of Your Audience.