It’s crucial to your company to have a customer database — whether it be B2C or B2B. Having contact data allows you to reach your customers personally through marketing campaigns and promotions. Approaching a customer personally rather than with general display ads gives your company a human feel that customers appreciate.
Here are a few easy ways that you can capture customer data while promoting brand awareness:
1. Contests
Depending on what you’re giving away, this can be the most compelling way to gather contact info. Consumers enjoy the possibility of winning something free. You can set up a contest using a platform such as Second Street, or you can host one on social media.
Tip: Asking participants to like and share your post as a part of your contest rules will increase social media awareness.
Another way to use the contest approach is in person at an event like trade shows or your place of business. Participants can then fill out a form sheet or enter their information on a digital device. Make sure you have requirements on the data you need for your business. Having your customer's full name, email, and phone number are essential because it allows you to add them to any of your promotional email campaigns or your text message marketing strategy.
Tip: Create a flyer or hand out a promotional item to give them after they have entered. When people see that something is given in return for information and their time they see it worthwhile.
2. Downloadable Freebies/Coupons
Have you noticed when you go to a retail site after looking at the homepage for about 20 seconds and a pop-up with a coupon offer is presented to you and you can’t help but to take advantage of that extra 20 percent off? That is a great example of lead capture. Having something similar on your website can produce leads, along with contact info. It doesn’t always have to be a coupon offer — it can be a free download of a song or some type of eBook depending on your industry.
3. Subscriptions
This is a great way to push out your companies’ content or new products to potential and current customers through print and digital avenues such as newsletters and email campaigns. Collecting customer information this way can be online and store level or can be an additional offer to a purchase. Customers see value in memberships that offer exclusive deals, a rewards point system, or a free item on their birthday month. 79% of consumers say that loyalty programs make them more likely to continue doing business with brands. (Bond)
Tip: Make sure your email/digital newsletter is in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.
4. Chat Boxes
Chat boxes have come a long way with artificial intelligence — and are more humanlike than ever. Including a chat box on your website serve as both lead generation and data collection. Some people feel more comfortable chatting one-on-one with a representative rather than calling, or physically going to a store to get answers for their questions. 46% of onliners would go for the chat over phone or email service. (TechJury)
Form submission is a large component of data collection. Below is a list of websites that offer a free “level” of form access. The forms can be customized and embedded into your website. Tip: Always include an opt-in option, so you can use their data for future marketing campaigns.
Once you collect enough contact data, you can start segmenting your customers and begin strategically approaching them based of the key indicators of your choice. Click here to learn about customer segmentation.
