Pokemon! Starting your journey catch and level up all of your consumer data. Part 1

Like Pokemon, There Are All Kinds Of Data.

Consumer data is becoming regarded as a currency. This article "Rich Data, Poor Data" has an insightful look into the world of data management.  Jumping into data governance, or machine learning would be like trying to catch a Zapdos with a level 5 Weedle (you feel me?).  What we are going to cover today is how capturing data is important even if you aren't Amazon.com and further how to level that data up so you can use it to become the very best! (..Like no one ever was..)

Data, Ripe For Collection.

• A brick and mortar business with an off-Broadway location:

I had once advised for a small, charming, bar in Houston Texas. Their pros were that they had a deeply loyal list of regulars due to the co-owners' connections.  They also had the best steak night on Wednesdays. Personally, I really liked this neighborhood establishment.  What it was up against as the businesses before it, was it was tucked away, about a full block, off of the popular "strip."  This business would need to impress it's customers enough the first time in order to keep them. This happened on Wednesdays, but on other nights business suffered.   The Solution?  Using this bar's big draw on UFC fight nights, a couple of handheld devices, a good looking girl in some UFC gear and a promotion for a free drink in exchange for your information  (you get the picture if you've ever been out for a drink after 8pm on a Thursday before.) you now develop a deep list of people who have been to your establishment on one of your best nights.  This allows you to orchestrate another event on an off night.  In this case bring the Saturday night fight fans in on Wednesday for the steak night. Capture your data on Wednesday to grab all of those customers to a future Friday event and start picking up the extra business that third night.  All you needed was the data in the first place.

• A mobile business considering investing in a retail front:

Currently I am overseeing development of two projects, both are "We come to you" services that aren't Uber. Both of these business are direct sales oriented; one in fashion and the other in photography. What keeps most mobile companies from growing is "business being good enough."  There may not be an incentive to take a risk. (Or to the very best, like no one ever was.)  But to capture data is our true quest, and to profit is our cause.

Here's the quick: Once you've sold someone, and it wasn't a disaster, they then know and trust you.  You can start to develop brand loyalty.  Mobile operations "one off" customers more often because it's hard to bring them back (for now.) But with with that brand loyalty, and their data, you can pull up a heat map of your customers with the help of some cool software (or just take the time to put a pin on a map after every sale.)  From there you can decide if starting a brick and mortar is really all that risky. Think of the opportunity costs!

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. What are my fixed costs with a retail front?
2. How much business will I need to cover these new costs?
3. Can we bank on growth from a retail front in the short term?
4. Will this increase customer reorders?
5. Will this increase customer's willingness to pay? (think buying a Frozen doll at Toys R Us, then that same doll in the Disney Store)
6. What new opportunities come with a retail front.  "Adjacent possibilities" "Cross/Up Selling"

• Short, high volume campaigns. "The Snowball Effect."

Bullet-point 1 talked about an establishment with a killer steak night.  That steak night was branded.  You've seen other branded events: Summerfest, VMA awards, yacht week.  An old friend Henri, whom I owe a good portion of my osmosis on this subject, utilizes the snowball effect with a new project: The 7 Down Series.  

The truth is that when someone buys from you, you own that moment in history.  That data is yours to use.  Previous attendees at one event may go to another. Recycle the data.  Attendees of your last 20 music events may also attend another event outside of live music, or may buy a product that's music related.  The more relevant the next offering the more effective it should be, congruence considered. 

Now that we understand each other.

We've merely scratched the surface on why data is powerful in small business.  Best practices on data collection and how to harness the data you have will come soon.

 How do you use your data?  Share your experiences here. Resources for the beginner are encouraged in the comment section.