Nearly two-thirds (62%) of customers say their favorite brands treat them as individuals (Marigold, 2024). When you create experiences that resonate with your customers, you win their loyalty. That requires more than experience and gut instinct. It requires data.

But don't businesses inherently know their customers? Isn't their intuition about what their customers want and need enough? No. No matter how well you know your customers, even the most skilled marketers can be led astray without the correct data. Just consider some of the most spectacular brand blunders of our times, such as Crystal Pepsi and Colgate's line of frozen meals.

What? You don't remember those products? Many people don't. They didn't last long!

The same concept applies to all types of marketing. Innovative ideas can falter without solid data to support them. For example, if you're promoting a new beauty product, how should your messaging differ for Gen Z women compared to Millennials? Would a call to action in yellow be more effective than one in red? These are the kinds of questions that should be answered through data analysis.

Here are five effective methods for deepening your relationship with (and understanding of) your customers:

Customer Surveys: Engage directly with your audience to gather insights about their preferences and values. Want to know what they think? Ask them!

Focus Groups: Invite a random sample of your target audience or people with similar demographics and talk to them. You can learn much more in a conversation than using numbers alone.

Tracking and Metrics: To analyze customer behavior, implement tools like barcodes, redemption codes, and cookies. Observing actions can provide more accurate insights than relying solely on opinions.

Purchase Data: Acquire data about your customers' interests through their buying habits, magazine subscriptions, charitable donations, and other third-party sources.

A/B Testing: Test different messaging, offers, and images to see what resonates best. Make changes based on what you learn.

Relying on guesswork for your marketing strategies is no longer an option for intelligent businesses. Utilize data as your guiding tool to ensure your efforts are practical. If you need assistance with this process, please contact us!