For most of us a discussion around “how what, and where” of analytics leads to blank faces. Or a nod or a shake of the head! Yet the insights and trends that analytics deliver can make a world of difference to those same people. It is a question of applying the learnings that analytics uncover.
As a discipline, analytics was established to answer complex business questions. Thanks to the evolution and take-up of digital channels, tracking technology, and modeling techniques we now understand customer beheaviours better. We now have a view of the factors that drive outcomes that in turn influence spend and changes in behaviour.
At 212F we were in the former camp getting our hands-on insights and trends in order to work better with our clients and improve our strategy recommendations that influence a change of behaviour in B2B rewards programs. There was a lightbulb moment. We looked at ourselves and thought we cannot be experts across all disciplines.
So we took our own advice, “we are experts in our business, not the data business”. We decided to team up with a team of data analysts who can use data to help find deeper, more effective solutions, trends and Insights for our clients. Decisive, a data-centric analytics company are those experts.
The partnership with Decisive allows us to focus on the areas we excel in. Experts now support our strategic framework. 212F wanted to extract value from the partnership quickly, and where better to start than a deep dive into 212F client programs? Here we can analyse participant demographics and behaviour data.
We wanted to understand the value of each client’s set of data so client contacts would realise the opportunity they have to leverage the data and use it as a strategic asset for future decision-making.
There are several ways to conduct this type of analysis, such as: “do you know how much of your customer’s share of wallet is being captured with you?” Looking at financial data can understand how, where, and when a customer spends in that category.
There are ways to estimate ‘share of wallet’ and it’s an incredibly valuable and insightful exercise. A second method of analysing data is to record and track the current and potential pools of value in the customer base.
This drives segmentation, where customers are named based on key characteristics or behaviours. Segmentation is a pre-cursor to lifetime value and other measurements such as churn and retention rate. If we look at lifetime value then marketers attempt to understand the lifetime value of a customer as soon in the relationship as possible.
The best thing about implementing analytics inside B2B incentive and rewards program is two-folded. It gives marketing and sales teams an environment to draw key insights that drive value to their customer base. And gives them a direct line of communication with individual members.
So next time somebody asks about analytics, don’t stare unknowingly into the crystal ball. Know that with the right partner, mysteries are made fact!
