Editorial Articles

Henry Smith, Business Development Director at Emailvision on why customer data matters in 2012

Customer data will be a hugely important topic for marketers in 2012. A one-size-fits-all marketing outlook is fast becoming archaic and marketers need to be able to analyse their customers’ behaviour effectively in order to create more compelling and relevant campaigns if they want to enjoy high ROI.

Successful marketers will be those who use customer intelligence technology to gain a deeper understanding of their customer base and reflect this in personalised and targeted campaigns across all digital channels, including email and social campaigns. Those who choose to ignore the potential of their data are very much at risk of losing their competitive edge within their market. 

However, it’s not enough just to recognise the importance of data; marketers must also know what to do with it. Data is a strategic asset and the key to building strong customer relationships. Yet in spite of this, data is often underused or is the last element considered when creating campaigns. A recent survey amongst 718 Emailvision clients showed an interesting disconnect on this very topic. While 97 per cent believe sending well-targeted, personalised emails is an important or very important factor in achieving the best response rates, only 20 per cent of those questioned said they were personalising all of their email campaigns. Furthermore, over 85 per cent of marketers recognise that they are not fully utilising their available customer data.