1. Gather customer data.

Look to both internal and external data sources, including:

 Acquisition data: Which channel or source did a new customer come from? Which
marketing campaign?
 Demographic data: What is the customer’s age, gender, marital status, education level,
location, etc.?
 Technographic data: What device(s) do they use to interact with your brand? Desktop or
mobile? Android or iOS?
 Psychographic data: What are their personal perspectives, values, and interests? What
motivates them?
 Activity data: How have they interacted with your website, social media pages, and/or
mobile app?
 Transaction data: How frequently do they make a purchase with you, and how much do
they spend? Which items do they usually purchase together?
 Correspondence data: Have they ever submitted a customer support ticket? Posted a
question or complaint to your social media pages? Responded to a survey?
2. Keep data up-to-date and backed up. Building a customer database takes a lot of time
and effort. Protect your investment by safeguarding against power outages and
technical glitches. CRM software can automatically update profiles when customers
enter new information, and online tools can protect against data decay by integrating
with your software and updating each contact as they browse your website with activity
data.
3. Respect customer privacy. Social media makes it easier than ever to get detailed insights
into your customers’ interests, perspectives, and life updates. Effective personalization
is about providing a relevant message to an interested audience — not proving how
much personal data you have.