“Data is like garbage. You’d better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it.”

~ probably not Mark Twain

Everywhere you look, someone is preaching on the digital street corner about how incredibly valuable data is, especially targeted marketing data. And they’re not wrong. While it’s difficult to put an exact dollar figure on the value of all the datasets out there (if you’re curious, check out the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group’s paper for a deeper dive), Statista estimates the global big data market will be valued at around $103 billion by 2027.

But not all data is created equal. One business’s treasure is another business’s trash, and not all data will lead to better results. In fact, hoarding heaps of irrelevant data can overwhelm your marketing efforts, cloud your decision-making, and waste valuable resources. So, how do you avoid collecting and focusing on data that only clutters your strategy and leads you in the wrong direction? In this post, we’ll answer the top four questions marketers and small business owners ask about using the right targeted marketing data the right way to find success with their ideal audience.

Question #1: What Data Should I Collect for Targeted Marketing and Where Can I Find It?

Grab your magnifying glass and meerschaum pipe, because it’s time to track down some clues. You’re on “The Case of the Hidden Purchasing Patterns.” Let’s talk about the four main types of customer data you’re hunting for and where you can find them:

Demographic data

Data like age, gender, income, and education level can help you segment your audience to offer them tailored, personalized messaging, offers and products. It can also help you choose the best channels for your campaigns. Grandma may have Facebook so she can see her grandkids, but as a happy, bustling retiree, she’s less likely to be on LinkedIn, for example.

Psychographic data

Data about people’s attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyle, also known as psychographics, can help you uncover why people buy from you. If you find out that your customers appreciate nature, focusing on the all-natural ingredients in your product could be an effective appeal to their preferences. Psychographics can guide your approach to tone and the visuals you use, making you better at speaking your customer’s language.

Behavioral data

This type of data tracks how customers interact with your brand. How frequently do they visit your website? How long do they stay? Those are behavioral data points, and they give you real-time insights into what’s working in your current marketing approach and what isn’t. This data also helps you personalize offers and content based on your customers’ recent behavior and improve their buying experience, making it more responsive and anticipatory.

Transactional data

When your customers make purchases, the value of their orders, frequency of their purchases, the products they bought, and their method of payment are all useful transactional data. With this information, you can calculate a customer’s lifetime value (CLV) and determine if the relationship is worth cultivating further. You can also make more informed product recommendations, as well as send targeted messages inviting your big spenders to enjoy premium offers and tempting frequent purchases to return with loyalty rewards.

Here’s where to locate these data points on some of the most popular platforms:

Additionally, you can augment this data through customer surveys, user-generated content (UGC), and at events and webinars. Be sure to collect and protect your treasure trove of targeted marketing data, with their permission, of course, in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system of choice.

Question #2: How Should I Segment My Audience for Maximum Impact?

Start with your business goals to choose the segments that will best assist you.

Want to increase your sales? Transactional, behavioral, and demographic data can help you to offer relevant recommendations based on previous purchases. You can also retarget abandoned carts with personalized reminders or incentives to complete their purchase.

Psychographic data and behavioral data can help you increase your engagement rates, whether that’s on your socials, emails, or website. Watch your engagement metrics for open rates, click-through rates, and time spent on content. Use them to measure improvements as you create targeted content that matches with your audience’s interests and values. Use a re-engagement campaign to target less active users.

Want to conquer the world? You’ll need to expand your market, and geographic demographic data is obviously crucial to that endeavor. Those new markets will have new attitudes and preferences, too, making psychographic data critical, as well. Find out what those local interests are to accurately target new regions.

Begin with a few basic segments. Choose ones with distinct characteristics that allow for tailored messaging. Refine and adapt them as you gather more data over time.

Question #3: What are the Best Ways to Use This Data with My Customers?

Personalization is a powerful strategy for tailoring your messaging to individual customers based on their unique characteristics. When you leverage all of this data you’ve gathered about their website visits, purchase history, and engagement with your email and social campaigns, you can change spammy generic ads to meaningful one-on-one conversations.

How so? Let’s say you see that a customer keeps coming back to visit the fin section of your paddleboard e-commerce website. Clearly, they’re interested in getting a new one, but they haven’t quite bit yet and need a nudge. Because you’ve been tracking web traffic data, you know that now would be a great time to send them a personalized email recommendation or promotion on your paddleboard fins. Because you’ve also tracked their purchase history, you know which fins would be complimentary for their board or the right replacement, if they perhaps lost one. All of this can lead to a message with the right content sent at the right time to give your customer a more thoughtful, intuitive experience with your brand. That makes them more likely to buy.

Amazon, for example, uses browsing and purchase history to recommend products this way, greatly increasing their conversion rates. Spotify is another company that uses personalization with excellent results. They send users personalized “Discover Weekly” playlists based on their listening patterns. This keeps customers coming back to the service and exploring new content. Connecting personally and relevantly with customers, businesses can use data to grow relationships, boost engagement, and increase revenue.

Question #4. How Can I Use This Data to Track the Effectiveness of My Campaigns?

Want to know what’s working and where you could use some improvements? The secret is tracking the right KPIs, like conversion rates, click-through rates, and ROI. These numbers show you how your campaign is doing at boosting sales, generating leads, or whatever your goal may be. Setting up these metrics before launching gives you a clear roadmap. That way, you can focus on what matters and measure success with confidence. Want to know more about calculating ROI for your SEO, email, and social media marketing campaigns? Check out our blog posts on Crafting a Profitable Digital Marketing Budget and Strategic Budget Allocation for Every Stage of the Buyer’s Journey.

Once you know how you’re performing, A/B testing is the mad scientist lab where you can concoct and compare variations of your ads, emails, or landing pages to see which performs best with your audience. Use the A/B Testing Template available free in our Emails That Get Sales series to guide your experimentation. Regularly reviewing campaign performance and adjusting your strategy (whether by tweaking ad copy, adjusting targeting, or improving offers) ensures you are always evolving and maximizing the impact of your marketing efforts.

Turn Your Data into Dollars with Better Marketing Insights

Using targeted marketing data helps small businesses do more with less. When you focus on the right info, you can create messages that actually connect and predict what your customers want. This leads to better engagement and more sales. No more guessing. Just smarter, budget-friendly marketing that works.

If you aren’t already using data strategically in your campaigns, I hope this post gives you the encouragement to start. Need help? Get in touch! Already using data-driven marketing? We’d love to hear about your success stories and challenges so far.

Make it a great week online, everyone!