Internal data is information that only you have about customers and prospects. For example, when a customer calls you to make a reservation or visits your website to request a brochure, information is stored in your CRM that your competitors do not have and can not buy. Your ability to leverage this “in-market” information in a timely manner to reinforce your relationship with your customer can create an enormous competitive advantage. Many marketers do not leverage this valuable asset. CEG provides a valuable auditing service that helps you close the gap between what you know about your customers, who your customers really are, and how you communicate with them.

INTERNAL REVIEW

What do you know about your customers?

This engagement involves reviewing your various customer data sources to determine what information is stored where and then aggregating your data to create a complete?internal?model?of your customer. The internal model outlines everything you know about your customers. Besides basic address information, you may know their gender, ethnicity, or birthday, what day of the week they like to shop, which advertising medium they respond most favorably to, what credit card they prefer, or what movies they like to see.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

So who are your customers, really?

Often, customers exhibiting similar in-market behavior live very disparate lives outside your tracking?area. This is referred to as the “elevator effect.” To minimize the elevator effect, we conduct an external portrait analysis using household level demographic and behaviorial data to?compliment your internal model and build a more complete?portrait of?your customers.

GAP AUDIT

Are you getting through to your customers?

The third phase of this engagement involves reviewing your communication curriculum and comparing the content of your messages with what we know about your customers. Typically, we find three gaps.

1. The gap between what you think you know and what you really know. For example, an automotive client thought it knew which color car every customer test drove because the lead tracking system had a field for storing this information. Our audit showed that this information was not being captured consistently enough to make it usable.
   
2. The gap between who you think your customers are and who they really are. One of our casino clients was using a schema that?placed all players into one of 13 different categories based on casino behavior. Our portrait analysis showed that casino patrons in one category were represented by as many as 40 different lifestyle categories.
   
3. The gap between who your customers are and how you communicate with them. This is the largest of the three gaps. Even those marketers who have a fairly good idea of who their customers are, have a difficult time?translating what they know into meaningful, individual communications because they either do not have access to the data they need or do not have the tools to leverage it.

RESULTS

The result of the CEG Customer Communication Audit is a document that outlines our findings and provides a valuable overview of the opportunities that can be captured by closing your gaps, such as enhanced customer loyalty, increased customer value, and greater profitability.