“Know yourself to improve yourself.” – Auguste Comte

The importance of customer behavior analytics can’t be understated. Today’s technological landscape includes the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, smart phone apps, and wearable technology. Big Data is growing at an exponential rate as customers interact with businesses in new ways, and social media has revolutionized the relationship customers have with brands and businesses. As this relationship grows ever closer, targeted ads, dynamic websites, product recommendations and more have made personalization the name of the game. In order to stay competitive, businesses need to personalize all customer-facing elements, and getting this right requires close analysis of customer behavior.

With a precise, detailed understanding of how your customers behave, respond, and interact with your brand, you will have the power to make their journey succinct, enjoyable, and lucrative.

Regardless of which type of business you are—B2B, healthcare, perhaps e-commerce—the way your customers interact with your brand (and the footprint they leave behind) remains the same. For long-term success, businesses must capture, visualize, and synthesize this Big Data to create premium experiences. Customer behavior analytics are the key to understanding your customers’ habits, preferences, and pain points and creating content that drives business forward.

What are customer behavior analytics?

Customer behavior analytics involve using advanced analytics software and dashboards to visualize trends and hotspots in your customer data, revealing insights to inform your engagement strategy. The process focuses on three elements:

1. Understand the customer journey.

• Who are your customers?

• What do you know about them?

• How do they discover your brand and product offering?

• When do they purchase?

2. Analyze the channels and content they engage with on their path.

• Who are your primary audiences per channel?

• Do customers prefer one type of media over another?

• How well is your content performing?

3. Understand how their final destination (your conversion point) is performing.

• Which of your conversion points nets the most customers?

• How can you improve conversion rates?

What are the hurdles surrounding customer behavior analytics?

• Privacy. With the sharp rise of privacy concerns in recent years, using third party customer data has become more difficult. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) limit what information companies can access and tighten the use of information that is accessible. Third-party data gathering is no longer easy; instead, companies need to take the reins of gathering data and do it themselves.

• Volume. To stay competitive, companies need more engaging, appealing content faster than ever before. Processing data, formulating a strategy, and creating relevant content at scale is a task too large for many companies. Without proper resources, many are falling behind.

• Technology. For some companies, integrating analytics tools can seem daunting. Our digital transformation practice enables decision-makers across departmental lines to grow their business by properly integrating current technologies into well-connected systems.

This article is the first of three in a series:

In “How to understand the customer journey & analyze engagement channels”, I examine the customer journey & how to analyze engagement channels. I also look at why familiarizing yourself with customer behavior is the key to optimizing your strategy.

In “Evaluating conversions and using dashboards to improve marketing ROI”, I talk about how your calls-to-action—purchase, form completion, whitepaper download, and more—can benefit from this new perspective.

Steve Sack is the Digital Marketing Practice Area Lead (PAL) at Logic20/20. He is a marketing expert and university instructor with more than 15 years of agency and in-house experience.