Customers Want Personalized Contact – Is Customer Intelligence the Future of Services?

Analysis of purchasing processes clearly shows that modern consumers move between various communication channels with companies – traditional and digital – leaving behind countless data resources that form their behavioral profile.

On the other hand, companies face the challenge of accurately assessing this data and understanding their buyers' expectations. Currently, we observe the active development of Customer Intelligence platforms, which combine advanced technology and analytics with marketing solutions enabling analysis and better understanding of data, as well as predicting future consumer behavior.

(May 10, 2017) – A phone conversation with a consultant, a visit to a brick-and-mortar store, and a final purchase online is an increasingly common scenario according to which we buy products and services. One customer action connects with the next, creating a trail documenting the decision-making pattern leading to purchase. Customers expect that the company's offers will be fully tailored to their individual needs, presented at the right moment and in their preferred way, e.g., on Facebook or as a message sent to their mobile phone.

Intuition Loses to the Power of Data

Customer contact with a brand is characterized by continuous interaction, both through digital and non-digital touchpoints, as well as regular availability of content and incentives to make decisions. Behind every customer trails a huge stream of information, the proper analysis of which enables accurate and quick decisions. In such a complex environment, decisions based solely on gut feeling prove to be imprecise.

Analyzing consumer behavior and expectations and using unambiguous, measurable information instead of experience and intuition enables gaining consumer trust, and moreover improving the effectiveness of marketing and sales campaigns – says Dariusz Jańczuk, Senior Business Solutions Manager at SAS. Customer Intelligence is a solution that allows for streamlining marketing campaigns, within which the ability to make quick changes, in line with customer needs, becomes one of the factors determining competitive advantage.

The Fight for High-IQ Customers

According to analyses by the consulting firm McKinsey1, companies that use Customer Analytics solutions to an advanced degree generate significantly better results compared to the competition. They achieve higher profits by 93%, and their sales are greater by as much as 82% compared to competitors using analytical solutions to a lesser extent.

Customer Intelligence allows for creating long-term sales strategies by optimizing the consumer's purchasing path, regardless of whether they shop online or offline. Marketing specialists can thereby respond to customer needs in real time and propose a product or service aligned with their expectations, regardless of whether they prefer digital or analog form.

The Internet has made it possible to purchase anything or any service literally with one click of a mouse, without leaving home. Communication with the customer has gone beyond the traditional store and moved to chats, SMS, and call centers. Customer Intelligence allows understanding and organizing this complex world of customer interactions. Moreover, it allows adapting decisions to the context in which the customer operates and the time and moment when they are about to choose our product – adds Dariusz Jańczuk.

Listen, Understand, and Act

A comprehensive Customer Intelligence strategy is based on three key stages: listening, understanding, and acting.

The listening stage is the moment of integrating online and offline data concerning a specific customer's behavior, allowing identification of their expectations toward the company. Consumers, regardless of the method of interaction (via call center, through an online form, or in-person contact), expect individual service and adaptation to the current context. As a result, we obtain a complete and unique knowledge base about customers.

The understanding stage involves interpreting the data we possess. All information from established online and offline contact is integrated, filtered, and passed on to individual company departments. This data is read and analyzed using appropriate analytical algorithms. The essential advantage of the understanding stage is the ability to create not only personalized offers for customers but also to respond to their needs in real time.

The acting stage is the moment of implementing marketing plans aimed at improving Customer Experience. We then focus on managing and organizing all customer contact channels to present a personalized offer before the customer realizes they need it.

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E-book: How to improve marketing campaigns with Customer Intelligence?