Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

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7 Ways to gain value from customer data

But there is a third group: those who are willing to explore ways in which they can drive not only better customer relationships but also additional revenue by commercialising their data.

Customer data is not simply an internal marketing or process management tool, Desforges argues. It can also be of great value to others. If it is handled in the right way, one company's data can be a profit-making, customer-acquiring, relationship-building tool for other partner companies.

By "ommercialisation", Desforges does not mean selling customer data indiscriminately to anyone that will buy it. Instead the idea is to drive value - for the company, the partner, and the consumer alike - from existing data over and above the use for which it was originally collected.

For example, commercial uses for customer data could include anything from developing reporting solutions through to new media propositions. But, according to Desforges, all of these uses must be built on an understanding of the customer. These functions can then be made available (for a fee) to the company's extended business networks, suppliers and partners, all of which should be able to benefit from a better understanding of customer behaviours.

There are many opportunities to generate significant revenues from customer data. For example, marketers often talk in hushed tones of the grocery retailer approach to data commercialisation that was pioneered by Tesco and Dunnhumby. By developing a reporting solution that enabled its suppliers to understand its customer base more clearly and accurately, Tesco was able not only to change the nature of its negotiations with suppliers, but also to build a significant revenue stream. The suppliers have a unique view of the behaviours of the people buying their products and, through targeted media, are able to communicate with the most relevant consumers. But most importantly the customers also win. Not only do they get the products they want at the right price, but they also receive information and offers on products that are most likely to be relevant to them. The rewards of Tesco's data commercialisation have been significant, brining reported external revenues equating to a 2% improvement in profits.

There are, according to Beyond Analysis, seven key steps involved in the successful commercialisation of customer data:

1. Understand the data
   Before you consider all the revenue opportunities from your data, you must clearly know what data assets you have, where they are, and be able to offer a clear picture of the ownership and permissions associated with that data. Data commercialisation must be about creating incremental value, and must consider how it fits into the company's overall customer, data and insight strategy.
2. Develop a value proposition
   Although it is clearly a key aim, data commercialisation should not be driven purely from a revenue perspective. You also have to consider the benefits that it will drive for consumers and partners. You should consider how it can deliver value to your consumers. For example, if you are developing a targeted advertising system, the value is only there if people don't opt out. Consequently, the more relevant you can be in your targeted communications, the more benefit there will be to you, your partners, and your customers.
3. Take legal and regulatory advice
   Customer data is precious and it has to be protected. Before you get too deeply involved in this process, it is vital that you take the right legal and regulatory advice. Consider that your data may not be governed only by data protection legislation but also by regulations relevant to your market sector (such as those in place for sensitive areas such as financial services and telecommunications). Also be aware of the possible impact of competition regulations and of legislation at a regional or international level.
4. Plan the roll-out carefully
   Plan and understand how any data sharing proposition will tie into day-to-day operations, and consider whether this is something that you can do as an outsourced or internally-managed service (or a blend of both). Consider how this planning will impact the business as a whole, and what impact it will practically have on individual departments (e.g. marketing, customer services, operations, or IT).
5. Prove the concept first
   A detailed business case is a general requirement for most major business decisions. But these are often built on assumptions, and it is only when concepts are tested in the real world that businesses can really quantify the true costs and benefits of data commercialisation. By building up step-by-step from a small test model, you will have more opportunities to optimise the service and maximise your revenue opportunities.
6. Don't forget the customer
   Data commercialisation is built on your understanding of the customer, so you must ensure that you do not overlook or forget them. As you move from proposition to concept, and finally to launch, you will need to be constantly considering the customer. Most importantly, when you launch a commercialisation product or service, you must ensure that you can clearly communicate what you are doing and why, and what benefits customers will gain from the product.
7. Don't stall. Go to market!
   Some organisations tend to deprioritise any challenging new concepts or propositions because they seem too complex at the time. But, when done correctly and in a planned manner, data commercialisation can benefit both the business and the consumer.

"The marketplace for data products continues to grow," concluded Desforges. "Recent analysis shows that, outside of credit-based products, the market in the UK alone is worth in excess of 1 billion per annum."

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)