Author name: lhansen@ascent360.com

For specialty retailers, getting current and known customers back in the door is seven times less expensive than trying to find and convert someone who has never heard of you. But how do you speak directly to someone you know — it might be a customer who has made a purchase or a prospect who has signed up on your website to hear more — at the right time, through the right channel, and with the right offer? That is where data driven marketing (or “smart marketing”) comes into play. It’s all about taking advantage of a direct-to-consumer approach, which is fundamentally different than mass marketing.

Data can tell powerful stories and enable an organization to produce amazing results, but only if the right data is captured at the right time. Access to quality customer data can be the difference between a one-time buyer and lifelong customer — knowing your customers’ needs, demographics, purchase behavior, etc. is crucial to higher engagement, sales, and customer retention.

Building a successful marketing strategy has many moving parts, so being able to determine exactly what your customers need is critical to fostering engagement and retention as well as creating a long-lasting approach. But if your existing marketing tool can’t keep up with your growing business, this process can be time-consuming and overly complicated. So, how do you know if you are outgrowing your current marketing tool? Here are five signs that it may be time for an upgrade!

Advanced marketing in today’s environment comes down to having the data you need at your fingertips — but that is no longer just email addresses and contact information. While that information is important, businesses have access to more data which can be used to jumpstart their marketing, communicate with customers, and increase sales.