This process works well if you’re selling just online or online and in-person. It makes it easy on your customers because most are already accustomed to giving that information to receive a product.
This type of collection works well if you have an in-person store for products or services. Ask your front-line staff to encourage people to fill in these forms. Alternatively, your front-line staff can ask for the information verbally from customers and put it directly into the computers.
This type of data collecting works well no matter what type of business you have. You can collect information about products or services, whether you’re an online or just an in-person business. For instance, you could say, “Can I have your name, email, and address so I can look up your account?” Even if they don’t have an account yet, you can still ask for this information so you can contact them again. You could say, “Since you don’t have an account, can I set one up for you so we can get back to you about this issue in the future?” If the customer is new, you could also ask something like, “How did you hear about our business?”
This type of form works both online and in-person. However, it mainly works with products, not services.
Common rewards programs include a punch-card program, where the customer gets a free item after so many punches, and a points system, where the customer gets cash to spend in your store after spending a certain amount.
For instance, maybe you want to start with just their phone number or email and a their name.
This information tells you more about your customer, so you can figure out what their needs are. Develop surveys that you can hand to customers in your store or that you can send out periodically to your customers via mail or email. Emphasize that these surveys remain anonymous. Use ranges for items like income, as it makes customers feel more comfortable giving you that information.
You can use software to track this information. This information tells you what the customer likes to buy and how often they buy items. With it, you can make educated guesses about what they might like in the future. This type of tracking is easiest to do online. At an in-person store, use software that recognizes the customer when they make a credit or debit card purchase. Alternatively, ask for the person’s phone number each time they check out to identify them.
Use software like freshsales, Interactive Brokers Custom Activity Monitor, or Campaign Monitor for tracking. These programs can tell you what pages the customer loaded, the last page they viewed, and the path they took through your site. All of this information can help you design a better website. Use the information to encourage your customers to take a certain path through your website, for instance, landing on a particular product. Obviously, this type of tracking only works online.
You can have a web developer add this to your website and then feed the data to a tracking system for you. Use the information to market products to certain customers, as well as stock products similar to the most popular items. This system only works online. However, you can track best sellers in your store to get an idea of what products or even services customers like best.
This information lets you determine the best customers to reach out to when you’re introducing new products. The customers who like your products and have many followers can help spread your brand.
If you have software that notifies you when customers haven’t logged in for a set number of days, you can use that information to reach out to customers you’re in danger or losing. For instance, you can offer a discount to someone who hasn’t purchased anything in 30 days. A discount encourages the customer to make a purchase.
Ask, “Would you recommend our product or company to friends, family members, and co-workers?” Have them rate the question on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being “definitely would recommend. " Ask them to follow up by having an open-ended “Why?” underneath. Run the numbers by tallying the percentage of people who voted 9 or 10 (positive promotion) compared to those who voted 1 to 6 (negative promotion). Those who rank your system 7 or 8 are relatively neutral, so don’t count them. Subtract the negative promotion score from the positive promotion score for your net promotion. Track the improvement or decline of your net promotion over time to give you an idea of how you’re doing.
Perform this survey with a simple in-store form or an online question. Alternatively, you can ask employees to gather this information verbally and record it in a computer.
For instance, start with the question, “Why did you buy from us today?” Underneath the question, make a list like this one: Convenience Low Price Best Quality Best Selection Ask the customer to rank the selections from 1-4, with 1 being the most important.
CRM software gives you a space to gather transactions, surveys, social media information, and any biographical data you’ve collected about each customer in one place. This software helps you analyze individual customer needs, but it can also help you spot trends across your customer base.
A lawyer can help you create this document, though it’s not absolutely necessary. Give customers the choice to opt out of data collecting to be more transparent. Most consumers are resigned to the fact that companies will collect data about them. However, they don’t necessarily like it. By being transparent, customers can decide whether they agree with your policies; most customers will appreciate the information.
Run an operating system that automatically encrypts data, such as Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise, or Windows 10 Pro for PCs. Use macOS X Lion, macOS X Mountain Lion, or macOS High Sierra for Macs. Install antivirus software on your system, and use a firewall to protect your company’s network. If you’re not confident about how well your customers’ data is being protected, hire a tech expert to evaluate your system and improve it as needed.
You can use software to help with this process. However, you can also manually adjust customers’ accounts as they do things like change their addresses for a new purchase. Alternatively, you can ask customers when they come in your store if their addresses have changed recently. Then you can update it in your system.
