Customer behavioral data remains the greatest untapped marketing asset, according to a new study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Silverpop. In this age of customer-centricity, marketers can use customer behavioral data to provide targeted content to drive buyer engagement and increase conversion rates.
According to the study, only 45% surveyed actually collect and consolidate customer behavioral data within a single, integrated database. Collecting data is important, but consolidating it into a single database makes it actionable in a very efficient way.
The May 2013 study surveyed 157 U.S.-based marketing professionals on their use of behavioral marketing automation to enable communication strategies and deliver campaigns. As campaign effectiveness is increasingly derived from customer insights, the study analyzed how marketers are powering automation with buyer behavioral data to drive engagement across multiple touchpoints and channels.
For those companies which have adopted behavioral marketing practices and technologies, they have achieved significant results ranging from higher return on marketing investment (ROMI) to higher contributions to sales pipelines, as well as revenue, the study found.
"While marketers have come a long way in automating their efforts, not all are using marketing automation at its full potential and incorporating buyer behavior into their campaigns in order to deliver the most personal and engaging customer experiences possible," Bryan Brown, Silverpop’s Director of Product Strategy, said in a press release.
Brown added that data is the fuel that powers today's digital marketing campaigns and “no insight is more valuable than what buyers tell you based on the actions they take.”
By capturing and then quickly acting on this behavioral data, Brown said, marketers can form “very rewarding individual relationships that lead to revenue and a deep sense of loyalty that can last a lifetime.”
According to the study, behavioral marketers are seeing an impact on sales pipelines and revenue. B2B behavioral marketers attributed 34% of their total sales pipeline to behavioral programs -- nearly 10% higher than their peers at 26%. Similarly, B2C behavioral marketers attributed 26% of their revenue achieved to their behavioral programs, while their peers checked in at 21%.