Affiliate marketing is an increasingly data-driven industry. Data collection and analysis can be used for all sorts of things, including assessing campaign success, evaluating sales targets, building consumer profiles, and predicting future market trends.
The idea of customer relationship management (CRM) is becoming more prevalent in the affiliate marketing industry and in the wider business world. It is the name given to the process of using technology to manage interactions with both existing and potential future customers. In doing so, businesses can improve their relationships with consumers, encourage more sales, and improve their brand image and reputation. Let’s take a look at CRM and how it can be integrated into your affiliate campaign with data.
What is CRM?
CRM is a bit of a vague term and can encompass a number of different things. It can be the name given to a system or technology designed to identify, store, and analyze interactions between businesses and customers. It can also be the name given to the general idea or strategy behind CRM, rather than the specific technology or system used to do so.
Why is CRM important?
Customers are the lifeblood of any business. For a company to have long-term, sustained success, it must ensure that it is providing the best possible service and that customers are leaving happy and satisfied. Not only will this help encourage customers to return again in the future, but it will also motivate them to recommend your business to others and generate invaluable organic growth.
CRM can also be used to learn more about customers and draw up accurate, highly detailed consumer profiles. Affiliates can then use these profiles to inform and further improve their marketing strategy, targeting customers in direct, personalized ways to significantly increase engagement.
Learning more about customers can also allow businesses to expand and develop their product lines and the type of services they offer. By paying attention to customer tastes and preferences and adapting as these change over time, affiliates can deliver a dynamic and responsive product offering that meets the constantly changing needs of consumers.
So where does data come into all this? As we touched on earlier, data is an incredibly important part of any successful affiliate campaign. Let’s take a look at the type of data used in a CRM strategy.
Identity data
Identity data is perhaps the most important kind of data for use in a CRM strategy. Identity data is simply personal information about customers, it includes things like names, email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth.
The proper collection and management of identity data is crucial. It can be used to build customer profiles and draw up lists for targeted email campaigns. However, there are strict laws surrounding the use and storage of personal information, such as the GDPR, so ensure you are aware of the regulations in your particular jurisdiction.
Descriptive data
Descriptive data provides further information and context on customers, including things like job titles, names of organizations, and sales history. This can be used to construct more detailed customer profiles and differentiate between different marketing targets.
Descriptive data can also be used to track sales and is useful for evaluating performance and following up on potential leads.
Quantitative data
Quantitative data is information that can be expressed through numbers, examples include the number of clicks on an ad, the number of sales, or page visits. This data is incredibly important and is vital for assessing the effectiveness of your overall business campaign. The information can be used to optimize and improve the customer experience.
Qualitative data
Qualitative data encompasses information on customer behavior that cannot be expressed numerically. This type of data is more complex and detailed, and as such requires more time and effort to collect, manage, and store it. Qualitative data can include things like customer interactions on sales and pricing and customer reviews and levels of satisfaction.
CRM databases
CRM data is a broad term that encompasses a range of different things. This means that affiliates can often have to contend with an incredibly high volume of data, which can quickly become unmanageable if it is not managed effectively.
Having an efficient and secure CRM database in place is the ideal way to store and manage your CRM data. A database will allow for quick and easy access and will also keep customer data safe from external threats, such as data breaches. CRM databases are often based in the cloud, which makes storage more affordable and allows for remote access across different locations and departments.
Conclusion
Using data is absolutely essential for any modern business. For affiliates, a data-driven CRM strategy is crucial and can offer your business a number of invaluable benefits.
If you’re looking for more insider knowledge on affiliate marketing, take a look at our blog, or for more personalized advice, book a free call with a member of our team.
Looking for even more insights? Registrations are now open for our 2023 Amplify Summit, held from the 17th to 18th of January, where you’ll have the chance to access talks from industry experts, panels and workshops, networking opportunities, and a free affiliate manager toolkit. Register and secure your place today!
