Building a relationship with customers is vital to maintain business after any initial transaction. And nothing is more assured in developing that relationship than building a customer database.

Utilizing customer data is essential for any business. Not only can it help you analyse trends and stay ahead of the game, it can also keep you at the front of a customer’s mind - and it could take as little as staying in touch via a mailing list. One sale could soon turn into several, and it’s all down to the data.

• What data can be used? 

Unlike in Europe, there isn’t a central federal level data privacy law in the US, although there are several laws allowing citizens to access any personal data stored by the government, health insurance agencies, and the banking and financial sector.

But as for internet data, only California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and Hawaii offer citizens the right to access and delete the personal data companies have stored.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t several important data privacy laws to take into consideration. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 means you can’t collect email addresses without the user’s permission, while California went one further in 2018, passing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), making sure consumers in the state knew what information was being collected on them.

Businesses collect four types of data; personal data (such as IP address), engagement data (time spent on a certain site), behavioural data (from how much they buy a certain product, to the movements of the mouse when on the page) and attitudinal data (ie: metrics on customer satisfaction).

Most businesses collect data from customers by tracking their online activity and directly asking for their data (for example, an email address to sign them up to a mailing list).

Companies can further monitor consumer behaviour by seeing how many times an individual IP address is accessing their website and social media pages, and can use this to send more targeted advertising their way.

• Other ways to capture consumer data

Before capturing consumer data, it’s important to have an easily accessible privacy policy on your site, so customers aren’t kept in the dark about how their data will be used.

The best methods of legally and safely obtaining this data will arise with every transaction. Records of transaction data, including invoices, payments or orders, will be securely kept after every sale, alongside any other details of each customer interaction.

Running surveys or competitions are another way to capture this data, as it allows consumers to voluntarily input that information, while informing them of how that data will be used.

• How this data can be used to grow your business

Once you have a database up and running, it is important to format the information in order to specifically target which consumers are right for each marketing campaign.

Segmenting all the contacts in your database, based on purchases and browsing history, is ideal for optimizing future campaigns - and allowing those to run concurrently, to target different sections of your captive audience.

This data allows you to personalise messages and build a more informal relationship. If they’ve entered a date of birth while completing their transaction, why not send a birthday greeting?

The con here is that most people ignore their emails, so persistence is key. Ensuring those signed up to mailing lists receive regular follow ups, with information on the latest news on products that suit their search preferences or recent transactions, is proven to generate sales - just rarely after one email.

This guide has everything you need to get started.