Learning about Customers
Companies collect data to learn about customers in order to target messages accurately and make marketing communication relevant to target audiences. Knowing how customers respond to offers, what they buy and don't buy, why they buy and don't buy, how much they buy, when they buy, and which ones are profitable and which are not is all valuable information. It also offers the potential to make marketing communication more personal and more relevant to customers.
In days gone by, the mom-and-pop grocery store used to know its customers; the grocer could relate to them as individuals. Today’s sophisticated information technology (IT) systems are making it possible for companies once again to "know" their customers and have a memory of past interactions with them. Such systems allow companies to cost-effectively collect, analyze, and use such data in planning marketing communication.
Databases and IT are also the engines that drive integration and interactivity. Because of IT, large numbers of employees have access to current customer data, which is a must in cost-effective IMC. Finally, IT allows faster and broader evaluation of IMC programs, and as a result marketing people are more accountable than ever before.
This chapter introduces components of data-driven communication, discusses privacy and security issues related to data collection and use, and explores the management and use of customer databases in IMC programs.
