Getting consumers to volunteer information about themselves requires a compelling value proposition.
Loyalty programs that solicit data in exchange for transactional and experiential rewards are popular models, but opportunities exist for incentivizing account creation or data capture outside of traditional loyalty programs as well.
There are many opportunities to learn more about a customer after a purchase, including unlikely sources such as a product return. For instance, if you ask a customer why they want to return an item, you may be able to act upon that decision and improve the marketing communications, or even the product itself, over time. Retargeting efforts and 1:1 communication through email and social media continue to capture information that is valuable for marketers.
One digitally native bra brand, for example, leverages post-purchase opportunities to collect data that enables higher customer lifetime value in the way it handles product returns. The company requests proactive feedback via an embedded call-to-action button that can kick off a product return and exchange if needed. During that process, the company solicits product feedback and uses the information gathered to re-engage the customer with recommended products via email after the return has been completed.
All marketers will need to get more sophisticated about how to use data from loyalty programs to deepen engagement on owned channels in a way that strengthens customer retention efforts — and turn points of churn or friction within the postpurchase experience into an opportunity to collect valuable data and feedback.