Photo by Samsung Memory US

Today’s customers have a lot of decisions to make when deciding which businesses to engage with. They’re constantly inundated with pop-up advertisements and influencer videos eager to direct them to new products and services.

Because of these constant branding bombardments, it can be difficult for customers to establish a deeper connection with companies. However, by leveraging behavioral data in your marketing efforts, you can help your business’s products and services stand out from others.

 

What Exactly is Behavioral Data?

Behavioral data is a collection of information gathered from customers as they interact in different ways with a business online. All the smaller interactions across websites, blog posts, and social media platforms can be leveraged by companies to gain new insights about their customers and enhance their overall brand experiences.

For example, when individuals visit subsequent web pages after reaching a specific landing page, it can help demonstrate how intuitive the navigation is and what types of content interest website visitors the most.

Data can also be extracted based on the amount of time customers spend watching certain videos, their purchasing habits, and the type of support they often request through customer support tickets and chat interactions.

 

Why Behavioral Data Matters When Creating Customer Relationships

Most individuals can tell when they’re trying to be “sold” by a brand. Unfortunately, this can actually damage a business’s reputation, with 71% of customers saying they lose trust in businesses that appear to prioritize profits over individual experiences.

Because of this, authenticity is crucial for businesses to master as they grow. Customers want to feel like brands are really trying to improve customers’ lives and are honest and transparent in their dealings. To achieve this, personalization and genuine interactions are key.

Collecting and analyzing behavioral data is an effective way to ensure businesses achieve these goals. It allows organizations to actively monitor and react to how their customers’ journeys are progressing, while providing the insight necessary to improve every type of interaction they have.

 

Effective Strategies for Leveraging Behavioral Data In Your Business

Personalizing Your Messaging

Rather than just blindly creating marketing messages that you think would resonate with your audience, try to keep your branding more reactive based on what customers do and how they interact with your business.

For example, if you were marketing a restaurant business, it would be vital to know the time of day that visitors are browsing the menu on your site, as well as your location, to get a better feel for whether they are potential lunch or dinner guests. You may also want to track all instances where customers start to make a reservation but cancel at the last minute.

Each of these actions or inactions can serve as clues to whether viewers are finding the necessary information on your site that they need, and can point to areas where personalization may be beneficial.

 

Getting the Timing Right

Having the perfect marketing campaigns for your core audience is important, but knowing when and how to deliver them is even more critical.

Some ways to incorporate this into your own strategy include sending discount codes to customers shortly after a shopping cart is abandoned on the site. This may help them make a purchase and also reduce their need to compare prices across multiple websites.

When you try to time your marketing actions just right, you’re much more likely to see positive results from your efforts.

 

Leveraging Historical Interactions

The data collected from your customers’ past brand interactions can be invaluable when trying to anticipate what types of actions they may take in the future. For example, if you analyze what types of follow-up actions website visitors take after landing on a certain blog page or after downloading a white paper, you can then send them suggestions on other associated blogs they’re likely to find valuable.

However, when taking this approach, it’s important not to seem too pushy. You simply want to give them access to additional resources that might help them solve a problem they’re looking into or help them decide on which products or services are best for their situation.

 

Creating Improved Engagement

Behavioral data can be a crucial element to rely on when trying to create more impactful customer engagements. This provides a powerful listening tool that essentially tells you how your business should respond to customers’ needs, even if they don’t express them directly.

One way to leverage this is by evaluating how people search for elements on your site. If they’re constantly needing to use search tools to find a specific link or site feature, this is a good sign that you need to improve your navigation menus or other calls to action on your site.

 

Assisting With Audience Segmentation

Traditional marketing efforts can sometimes put customers into their own boxes, like “millennial” or “suburban dad,” which can cause your message to miss the mark. Behavioral data lets you be much purposeful in how you interact with current or potential customers and can be important for your public relations efforts.

Instead of using vague labels, you can create segments based on what people actually do, such as “customers who buy from social media ads” or “users who download every guide.” This allows you to create much custom communication for specific actions, leading to much more effective engagement.

 

Building a Seamless Customer Journey

Sometimes the best way to help your customers is by fixing the potential problems they haven’t even run into yet. Behavioral data can show you the silent signals of a frustrating experience, while giving you the time to address it early on.

For example, if you notice many users abandoning a form on the very last step, something is likely wrong with the design. By proactively identifying and fixing these issues, you create a smoother journey for everyone and still extract the meaningful data you need to help your business improve.

 

Use Your Behavioral Data to Improve Relationships

Accessing your business’s customer behavioral data is an important way to ensure you’re building long-lasting, loyal relationships. By following the strategies discussed, you’ll access the information necessary to continuously improve your business’s online presence and build a much more efficient and enjoyable customer journey for everyone.

 

Author Bio:

Chris Bretschger, Managing Partner at Bastion Agency, is a seasoned marketer with over 20 years of experience in integrated marketing. He has developed brand strategies, managed media campaigns, and built analytics tools for clients like Mazda, Adidas, Jenny Craig, and Kia. When not leading Bastion, Chris enjoys superyacht regatta racing on the open seas.