“Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
– Damon Richards
Customer experience is more significant than ever – in fact, according to Aspect, more than 60% of marketers agree that the importance of consumer experience has risen. With the emergence of the Big Data phenomenon, we now have more information than ever to study the actions and habits of customers in order to enhance their experience.
By the year 2020, we will have more than 1.7 MB of data created every second for every person on the planet. However, all of those volumes of data do not mean anything if you do not utilize them correctly.
Posting on Specific Times for Maximum Exposure
Over 80% of buyers say that the “authenticity of content” is one of the main considerations in their decision to become a follower, but what good is great content if they cannot see it. One of the key factors for the visibility of your posts is engagement, and finding the right time to post could be a great advantage. For example, Buddy Media reports that consumer engagement on Facebook is highest on Thursdays and Fridays, from 1 to 3 p.m. However, if you look at some of the latest facts and statistics (provided by Buffer), you will see that the range of different schedules seems only to increase. Luckily, there are scheduling solutions out there, such as CoSchedule that can help you automatize the process.
Your schedule will depend, and it should be organized in accordance to your industry, your region, and of course depending on your target audience. So take recommendations from various sources in consideration, only after you’ve mastered your audience model.
Monitoring Social Media at All Times
While there are numerous solutions out there, like the popular SocialMention, that monitor the number of mentions you get on social media, we need to look beyond that. The chances are, the people who talk about your business, probably do not even @ mention you. Actually, according to a Conversocial report, only roughly 3% of the customers directly mention a business or a brand when they talk about it on Twitter. You have to oversee your Twitter Feed with real-time monitoring tools, if you want stay up-to-date. Additionally, keep in mind that failure to respond to customers can lead to a 15% growth in churn rate.
If you don’t have any experience with intelligent business platforms of any sort, start with Panorama. With this tool, you will be able not just to gain big data insight, but you will also receive your data in a form of an info-graphic. Which will make things certainly far more comprehensible.
Getting rid of Simplistic Surveys
In this age of behavioral targeting and analytic tools, it is surprising to see how many companies and organizations still depend on focus groups and simple surveys to study the behavior of consumers. How can you even know that the people are honest in their answers? A few years ago, Synovate set out to test the honesty of over 2500 survey panelist by hooking them up to a polygraph. The researchers found out that when it comes to issues such as personal finances and exercising habits, only 50% of the people give an honest response.
So remember the golden rule – research your model audience. And sometimes the insight coming from your very customers is the most prolific form of data that you can gain. Just ask them for a feedback, and listen to whatever it is that they have to say.
Even though most of the data stays unused (less than 0.5% is ever analyzed, according to Technology Review), more and more companies are beginning to realize the potential of all of this information. As a matter of fact, almost 75% of organizations have invested in Big Data this year. By fusing Big Data analytics with your Social Media marketing strategy, you will ensure that all of your customers will stay loyal to your company for years to come.
