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HomeBlogBlogPutting Your Data to Work: How to Use the Data You’ve Collected to Boost Your Bottom Line

Putting Your Data to Work: How to Use the Data You’ve Collected to Boost Your Bottom Line

Collect data to boost bottom lineWhen was the last time you had a conversation about cornbread?

Let me explain what this has to do with DATA!

There are two cornbread camps, and the one you fall into can reveal a lot about your marketing.  I will explain this claim later in this article and why my friend Fran likes to make cornbread in an aluminum pan but when it comes to marketing her small business she opts for a well thought out plan based on carefully appended data – the cornbread equivalent of baking in a cast iron skillet.

By focusing on quality, long-term customer loyalty, and strategic marketing decisions that are based on aggregated data, you’re sure to achieve results as delicious as cast iron cornbread.

Check out the following case study to see what I mean….

Case Study: Data In Action

While getting to know their customers, our client discovered that a particular female customer segment was made up of married mothers, not single women as they had originally thought.

After reviewing the data on this segment, Massa & Company helped our client create a marketing model that spoke directly to what this particular customer base wanted.

While other segments were sent a mailing featuring images of “clubbing” clothes and accessories, the mommy customer segment received a mailing featuring comfortable loungewear, exercise clothing, and more conservative evening dresses.

We also created a targeted email campaign that featured multiple images of retail products complemented by warm, family-friendly text and fresh-looking graphics that would appeal to the young mom demographic.

The point of collecting data on your customers is not just to find out what they want, but to give them what they want – to show them that your company has exactly what they’re looking for. Your marketing then becomes part of an ongoing conversation with your customer, instead of an intuition-based sales message.

Just like cornbread in a box, it may seem quicker and easier to send every customer the same marketing message, or to collect a bunch of data without turning that data into actionable insights.

But like the extra TLC it takes to make cast iron cornbread, the extra mile you go for your customer pays for itself threefold: in the form of increased revenue, decreased marketing spend, and the cultivation of a loyal, lifelong relationship with each and every customer segment.

Do you have data but aren’t sure what to do with it? To turn your data into an actionable model that can predict your customer’s next move, contact Bonnie at (312) 463-1050 or by clicking here now.

As for cornbread revealing a lot about your marketing, take my friend Fran, for instance. Fran grew up in Chicago making yellow cornbread that comes from a box. In order to make her cornbread, Fran just adds water and bakes the bread in an aluminum pan. It’s quick and easy but, in my humble opinion, it’s a far cry from what Big Benders like me think of as “real” cornbread.

I’m from Tennessee and grew up on white cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet. I make it from scratch with simple, pure ingredients like eggs, buttermilk, and shortening.

“Cast iron?!” cried Fran when she discovered how I always make my cornbread. “That sounds labor intensive and kind of expensive.”

“But Fran” I said, “Cast iron cornbread is amazingly delicious and so, so worth it!”

My Recipe for Cast Iron Cornbread

Ingredients
2 cups of self-rising white cornmeal (I prefer Martha White cornmeal but have to ‘import’ it from Tennessee to Chicago)
1 ¾ Cup buttermilk
1 egg
¼ Cup of solid Crisco shortening

Directions

Before mixing up the cornmeal, egg, and buttermilk in a bowl, turn the oven to 425 degrees. Put the shortening in an 10” cast iron skillet (properly seasoned, of course). Place the skillet in the oven as it pre-heats.

Mix other ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Once shortening has melted, remove skillet from the oven and carefully swirl the melted shortening around the sides of the skillet to coat. Pour the shortening into to the bowl of ingredients and mix. Pour contents of the bowl into the skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 3 minutes then flop the cornbread out of the pan onto a plate and butter immediately.

Bonnie Massa is Founder and President of Chicago-based Massa & Company, Inc. She works with companies and nonprofits to make the best use of their information about customers, partners, donors and sponsors. With more than 40 years of experience in marketing and predictive analytics, Bonnie is passionate about helping clients make informed, data-driven decisions to increase the value of their customer base. She strongly believes that making pasta and ice cream from scratch are worth the effort, and she spends much of her free time testing and re-testing that theory.


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