Customer data is key to understanding and getting to know your audience and customer groups. Not all data are created equal. The source of your data and information is key to producing the best insights for your business.
The best data source for your business are from systems you already use – POS systems, WiFi systems, eCommerce platforms and Third Party applications. However, we understand that the most difficult aspect for hospitality and retailers in the medium enterprise category is access to data you already own.
This guide will offer ideas and strategies in how to access and use data from existing systems and technologies you already use.
When customers give your business permission to learn more about their preferences and engagement patterns – it all goes back to their need for personalization and value from your brand.
How Data Powers Customer Engagement That Convert Into Sales
There is a big gap for hospitality, retailers, salons, spas and any business selling from a physical storefront compared to their online counterparts – easy access to transformative customer data and key insights you own.
As a digital marketer with over 20 years of experience and CEO of 4 years working with small to medium business enterprise and retailers, we can relate to your pain. Online retailers have it easy when it comes to access to data they own. We exist to change that.
Here are some of your data sources and how to access the information to help your business drive more sales.
WiFi Systems and Captive Portals. Do you know that your WiFi system in your physical storefront is a great place to learn about anonymized data including your foot traffic, potential audience size, demographic based on device types, and yes, the option to receive opt-in data from customers who want to stay in touch with your business.
We found that captive portals is 40% faster at helping a business acquire new customers. Businesses using a captive portal for their WiFi hotspot have the opportunity to grow sales by 21% month over month.
POS Systems and Purchase Data. Today’s POS systems offer business owners the ability to extract opt-in customer data for customers who sign up in your store. This is all great.
The downside: You may own the customers who signed up with your physical store, while other stores in the same POS network who choose to use the POS marketing features are able to send messages to that same customer. True ownership becomes a sketchy conversation. POS marketing features do not go deep enough.
What does this mean? Most POS marketing systems “scheme” the customer engagement lifecycle with point systems based on a customer’s order. Your POS data and system has more information that drive deeper personalization for your customer engagement. At GoGoGuest, we’re a big believer in permission based customer engagement. Therefore full ownership of your customer data is always better than partial ownership.
eCommerce Platforms. eCommerce systems like Shopify, Woo Commerce, Big Commerce and custom eCommerce platforms are great sources for quality customer data.
Online shopping is growing. It will continue to grow, nonetheless it does not mean that physical storefronts will disappear. Gathering in spaces is core to our social fabric. We see online channels as an opportunity for businesses who are heavily invested in their physical storefront strategy to also branch out online.
Ecommerce also accounted for more than half—56.9%—of all gains in the retail market last year. That’s the largest share of growth for online spending since 2008, when eCommerce represented 63.8% of all sales growth. Plus, this is only the third time in the history of U.S. retail that the year-over-year dollar gains for online purchases exceeded the gains for in-store spending in a given year.
Personalization. When your data pipelines are organized into powerful analytics that highlight behavior patterns from all customer touch points, your business is fully empowered to drive true value for your customers.
About GoGoGuest
GoGoGuest is the complete customer engagement and analytics software platform for businesses who sell from physical stores and online. GoGoGuest captures and analyzes existing data streams from Point of Sale systems, eCommerce platforms, Wi-Fi systems, and Third-Party applications to provide businesses with key insights for precise marketing, faster and confident operational decisions and revenue management. Our story.
