Data-driven marketing is nothing new.
What is new, is how essential it's become to customer engagement. Data-driven strategies put the customer first, delivering exactly what they need at just the right time. It is the single greatest asset to drive engagement.
Why is customer engagement so important in the current landscape?
Customer engagement is critical — it's a crucial component of lead generation, helping reconnect with existing consumers and finding new ones, all while increasing profits. But only if you understand why.
1. Businesses have gone completely digital
It's should come as no surprise to hear that businesses have gone digital. They're focused on building out their software stacks, collecting as much data as possible, and using software to automate their work. In a digital-first world, engagement is everything.
Companies have more options vying for their attention and less time to filter through these options. As such, it's up to B2B services to quickly identify themselves as the right option. And more importantly, it's critical that B2B providers maintain a presence in the mental space of their customers.
2. B2B sellers are competing on a global scale
Another key reason for the growing importance of customer engagement is the global expansion of your competition. B2B businesses are no longer competing with local providers, but with every provider globally.
This makes distinguishing your business a serious challenge. You'll need to clearly establish your place in the market, and then draw as many customers to that place as possible.
Customer engagement is the way to do this. The more active your business is in your customers' lives, the more clearly it will stand out. It's the key to securing long-lasting sales.
3. Users expect always-on communications from businesses
As a business, you no doubt expect always-on communications from other businesses. You're looking to engage with other businesses around the clock, and you're no longer used to waiting several days for a response. Oftentimes, you expect a response in a matter of minutes.
Your customers are no different. We've all grown accustomed to a world filled with chatbots and around-the-clock customer service. This means it's key that your business becomes a provider of this level of always-on service.
In other words, customers want to engage with your business on their schedule, not yours. And with the right customer engagement tools, you can easily provide this experience.
Data is the key to personalisation
When it comes to driving customer engagement, few resources are as potent as data. And one of the primary ways that you can use data to push customer engagement forward is through personalization.
Digital personalization has been growing in popularity for years now, and its importance is at an all-time high. It allows you to provide a unique experience to each of your customers, meet their needs quickly, and offer a service that they can't find anywhere else.
1. Quickly identify what's working so you can adapt to trends
Another reason that data is important to moving customer engagement forward is that it allows you to quickly identify what trends are working and why. Traditionally, you would have a team keeping an eye on current trends, then they would decide which to follow, then you would roll out a plan, then you would monitor the results, and then you would keep following the trend until it seemed to sputter out.
Obviously, this is a bit of an unwieldy and imprecise process. Data is here to help. With data, you can accurately and quickly spot rising trends. This allows you to jump onboard while they're still popular rather than getting in on the action late.
2. The competition is going to be data-driven
It's likely unsurprising to hear that the competition is data-driven. Your business isn't the only one becoming aware of the importance of data with regard to customer engagement.
As such, staying competitive means investing in data. Offering new services, features, and products that are built on data will enable you to meet your B2B customers' needs and wants. And if you aren't offering these services, you can be sure that your competitors will.
How can we use data to drive engagement in the B2B space?
We have the why, but what about the how? Let’s take a look at practical strategies you can adopt to utilize your available data.
1. Identify your target audience
Comprehensive customer data can be used to create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) for your business. This allows you to focus your efforts on the right audience, bringing the right traffic to your business.
2. Create content that can cut through the noise
As mentioned, more businesses are vying for your customer's attention than ever before. That's why you need to create content that can cut through the noise and grab their attention. With data, you can learn your customers' pain points, greatest needs, and goals. And you can use this data to market more accurately.
3. Create a feedback loop
From one year to the next, your customers' needs are going to change dramatically. That means your business can't grow complacent. By using data, you can quickly A/B test new ideas, services, and approaches, finding the best new methods all of the time.
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