Is your data capture letting you down?

Don’t let all the hard work of a communications or marketing strategy fall down because of poor data capture or a lack of understanding about why it’s important among all your employees. Choosing what data to collect and how to use it is a good starting point as is ensuring all employees are aware of what you’re doing and why. Recently, I saw what happens when this isn’t the case – an employee actually tried to talk me out of signing up to receive marcomms. Here are some quick wins in data capture and staff training that are easy to implement and will benefit your business.

Choosing what data to collect and how to use it
Wherever data is collected always follow the best practice and, of course, the legal requirements but also think about the following points:

1. Consider what information you’re asking for, it is great to personalise information but don’t ask for things which are not needed.

2. Explain why you need each piece of information if it is not obvious. This acts as a double check list because if you cannot explain why you need to collect the information, don’t collect it. Also, this helps the user understand what it will be used for and why you need it. This, in turn, will increase the accuracy and the number of people who will give you their information.

3. Make sure you don’t over-profile the data. Just because someone buys one children’s book, it does not mean that they have children.

4. Give people the chance to say you have got it wrong. Take inspiration from the world of social media and make email a conversational channel either via email or integrated with social media.

Train individuals working at data collection points
When collecting data online the main focus is making it clear and easy for the user with the appropriate amount of information clearly explaining why certain information is needed. However, data is often collected offline, in store or on touch screen panels or through loyalty cards. This is where the training of the individuals is crucial.

Here are three examples I have experienced in the last month where training might have improved the quality of data and therefore the usefulness of data being used.

1. While signing up for a Tesco Clubcard the security man made a dash to the touch screen computer I was on and deleted the information about the age of children in my household and then selected that I did not want to receive offers and pressed submit. He explained that I did not want Tesco knowing everything about me and if I had ticked that they would send me loads of stuff through the post. I was signing up again, as I had lost my card and moved address, so actually helpful advice would be that I did not need to sign up from scratch I could amend my details. Although the security man was very pleasant he has prevented me from receiving any money-off vouchers and special offers and prevented Tesco from being able to send me relevant marketing information.

2. When buying things from Boots, I don’t have a loyalty card so always ask the person with me (quite often Laura, age 22) if they have their card and then hand it to the lady serving who adds the points to their card. This means the vouchers and marketing Laura receives are tailored more to my requirements than hers and Boots has a slightly confused profile of Laura. What should have happened (and I almost will the staff at Boots to say this) is when they hear me asking to use someone else’s card for them to politely say that the cards are not transferable and sign me up for one of my own. This would result in a better outcome for me and Boots (although slightly fewer points for Laura).

3. The lady at the airport filling in forms and collecting emails for a credit card company chose the option not to receive marketing emails for me. She assured me that by doing so “you won’t get spammed”, but it also means the company cannot promote additional service to the individual even if they might be relevant.

There are many other examples and the main point here is not to limit data capture and marketing to inside the office and make everyone within the company aware of what you are doing and why so people don’t stop the process being as effective as it could be.

Educate the people sharing their data
It’s a controversial area with people worried about companies knowing too much about them. That’s why it is important to make the benefits of opting in and sharing information as clear as possible and keep informing individuals of what and how you use their data. Open, honest and upfront marketing will allow email marketing to continue to be an effective way to market and communicate and provide a real benefit to the users who receive the relevant messages.

So, to sum up, be honest and upfront about what you are doing with your customers’ data, how it is stored, how it is used and the benefits the individual will get. Make it easy for individuals to tell you when you have got it right or wrong and make opt-outs easy and clear. Make sure everyone working at the company is behind what the company is doing and understands what the data capture processes are used for.

Sara Watts, director, Data Media and Research

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