New Year, new budgets, new priorities. It’s time to start marketing to all those new customers you acquired over the holidays, right? Maybe.
Do you really know who your new customers are? Can you tell which of them:
Purchased something for themselves?
Purchased for someone else in their household?
Purchased for someone else entirely? And if so, do they have interest in buying from you for themselves?
If you can’t answer the questions above, it's time to do some data cleanup before diving headfirst into your Q1 initiatives. Why? Message relevancy to the customer is key. Without it, your campaign results will inevitably fall short.
The Holiday Data Mess: Why it Matters
Let’s play this out. You launch an email campaign to all your newly acquired customers, but one third of them bought gifts for someone outside of their household and have no interest in your brand for themselves. What happens to your metrics? Email engagement tanks, your opt-out rates soar, and your conversion rates drop.
The email campaign will probably be blamed for the poor results, not what actually caused it. It happens every year—what seemed like a successful Q4 doesn’t lead to the anticipated growth and loyalty everyone expects. It gets chalked up to “discount seekers” and “switchers” when the real culprit is the dirty data that was generated over the holidays.
So, what do you do about it?
If you had a time machine, you could go back to Q4 ask a simple question or two: “Is this for you or a gift for someone else?” If it’s a gift, then ask, “Is it for someone in your household?” Those two questions can transform data chaos into data clarity.
No time machine? No worries. It’s not too late to do some data clean up. Here’s how:
1. Start with an Email Welcome Series
One of the easiest ways to sort out your Q4 data is by creating an email welcome series for new customers. But instead of pushing products, flip the script and try to learn more about them. For example, a personality quiz is a great way to engage customers while capturing their preferences, interests, and needs.
Think of the quiz as a customer preference center. By asking targeted questions about their recent purchase, you’ll collect valuable data you can use to segment your customers more effectively. Some customers might even fall into the “once or twice a year gift giver” category, which can help you tailor future campaigns.
2. Use Gamification to Gather Data
If your welcome series is a web that’s too tangled to tackle, try using gamification to capture those important questions. Things like a spin-the-wheel, scratch off or even a trivia test is a quick, fun and effective way to engage and correct your data.
Here’s the trick: Before they get to spin the wheel or see their trivia results, ask them those key questions about their recent purchase. You may collect less data than through a full email welcome series, but you’ll still be able to segment them correctly and build from there.
3. Use Interactive Experiences for Segmentation
Can’t get approval to do a promotion but still need to push those products? No problem. Create an interactive lookbook or a “this or that” experience that allows consumers to convey their interests through simple thumbs up/down actions. You get to showcase your new products, while they let you know what interests them. Plus, you still get to throw in those two important questions to gather valuable data along the way.
The Bottom Line
However you choose to approach it, the key is to start a cycle of remarketing with a better understanding of your customers and how you can be most relevant to them. You’ll improve both your near-term results and LTV, plus create a better segmentation strategy for the business.
Remember, relevance is the foundation of loyalty. Cleaning up your data now ensures that your future marketing campaigns will connect with customers on a deeper level—and deliver the results you expect.
