Behavioral data consists of the digital breadcrumbs users leave behind as they interact with websites, mobile apps, and other digital environments. It captures actions like page views, clicks, purchases, and social media engagements, providing a complete and colorful picture of customers’ behaviors.
This data reveals what people are doing and helps uncover why they’re doing it.
Think of it as the ultimate guide to understanding customer intent. It helps you turn guesses into real insights so you can develop marketing strategies that connect with customers’ behavioral patterns and beat your competitors.
In fact, using customer data the right way can help grow your revenue 85% faster than your competition! But that’s just scratching the surface.
Let’s explore behavioral data, its benefits, and some practical steps marketers can take to succeed in an increasingly data-driven world. Buckle up — this is where customer insights meet strategy.
Why Is Behavioral Data Important? Key Benefits
Every interaction your customers have with your brand tells a story. Behavioral data gives you the tools you need to decode that story — revealing patterns, preferences, and opportunities to connect on a deeper level.
So why does this data matter for your brand’s marketing efforts?
Enhancing Personalization
Personalization isn’t just a trend; it’s an expectation.
Did you know that 81% of people want a personalized experience? Moreover, a whopping 91% appreciate when businesses recognize their purchase history and preferences.
Behavioral data helps you map customer journeys and spot patterns in online behaviors so you can deliver on, if not exceed, these expectations.
Informing Marketing Strategies
Behavioral data is your road map to smarter campaigns. You can determine what works best for your audience by analyzing browsing habits or content preferences. This will show you which channels deliver results, help you adjust your messaging, and help you direct your resources to the right places.
Behavioral segmentation makes these insights even more actionable, helping you design campaigns that speak directly to your audience.
Driving Data-Driven Decision-Making
Making decisions, even the tiniest ones, can feel like a guessing game, but behavioral data changes that.
It helps you predict what your customers need and when they might leave. For instance, your first-party data should show you how your audience interacts with your brand. You can use it to refine your recommendations or product offers.
Behavioral data collection ensures your choices are based on real actions, not assumptions. Who wouldn’t want such a huge competitive edge?
Improving the User Experience
Two bad experiences — that’s all it takes for 86% of your customers to pack up and leave for good! As if that’s not bad enough, 91% won’t even complain; they’ll just leave.
Behavioral data helps you fix that by highlighting trouble spots like a confusing website or long support wait times. This data makes it easier to deliver an experience your customers will enjoy — and keep coming back to.
Plus, a better user experience means higher conversion rates and fewer barriers to engagement.
Sources for Customer Behavior Data
The good news is that you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to sourcing customer behavior data. These sources will help reveal user interactions across platforms, helping you develop strategies driven by audience intelligence.
Web Analytics
Platforms like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics track interactions on your website, providing insights into clicks, page views, and user journeys.
They also provide audience measurements like bounce and conversion rates, giving you a deeper understanding of where users are engaging the most. For example, you can find out which landing pages are driving the most conversions or where users are dropping off.
Combining this information with behavioral data tracking helps you fine-tune your strategies to improve your outcomes.
CRM Systems
A customer relationship management (CRM) system doesn’t just store purchase histories — it tracks customers’ preferences and interactions over time. You can easily identify patterns in customer journeys and build better retention strategies.
You can create personalized campaigns that truly connect with your customers by combining your CRM data with other sources. CRMs also make it easier to predict future behaviors, like when a customer might be ready for an upsell or renewal.
Insights from your CRM can help keep your outreach efforts relevant and timely.
Social Media Platforms
Are you aware that 5.2 billion people, or 63.8% of the world’s population, are active social media users? Think of all the behavioral data that social media platforms can track, such as likes, shares, or comments.
These metrics reveal trending topics and provide clues on user sentiment. You can also use social media for behavioral segmentation, grouping users based on what they engage with most.
And the icing on the cake: Tracking online behaviors via social platforms helps you spot influencers who can amplify your reach.
E-Commerce Platforms
Shopping carts, wish lists, and abandoned checkouts can be a gold mine for behavioral data.
For example, abandoned carts might signal that a customer had second thoughts about a potential purchase, possibly due to pricing concerns or unexpected fees. Alternatively, wish-list activity could suggest a customer is interested in specific products and may respond well to targeted promotions or discounts.
This data can help you fix any points of friction, encouraging users to complete their purchases. You can also analyze purchase histories and reward program participation to identify your most loyal customers.
Customer Support Logs
Whenever someone calls or chats with your support team, they leave valuable insights behind. Analyzing this data helps you understand common pain points and improve the overall customer experience.
For example, if customers keep reaching out about the same issue, it might point to a design flaw with a particular product. Or if many people are asking for help with navigating your website, it might signal that the interface needs some improvement or the website needs a clearer FAQ section.
Support logs can also reveal trends, like recurring complaints about specific services, helping you proactively address important issues.
Customer Surveys
Sometimes, collecting behavioral data is as easy as getting it directly from the source. You can uncover what’s working and what you can improve on by simply asking your customers about their experiences, preferences, and satisfaction.
Survey responses often highlight pain points that might not appear in other data sources, giving you a fuller picture of your audience. You can then incorporate the survey feedback into your overall strategy, ensuring you’re making changes that truly matter to your customers.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs generate a wealth of information about customers’ behaviors. They track purchase histories, reward redemptions, and participation trends, which reveal buying patterns and preferences. For instance, you can identify which products drive repeat purchases or which rewards customers find most valuable.
This data helps you design better incentives and strengthen your relationships with your most loyal customers.
3rd-Party Data Providers
Companies like ZoomInfo, Clearbit, Apollo.io, and People Data Labs, among others, offer consumer behavior data that covers purchasing patterns, lifestyle choices, and market trends.
This data can help you understand broader industry movements and benchmark your performance against that of your competitors. While third-party data isn’t as personalized as first-party data, it’s still valuable for identifying opportunities and refining your marketing strategy.
Online Reviews
Customer reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google Reviews, and Amazon give you a front-row seat to customer sentiment.
Surprisingly, 95% of online consumers have left an online review in the past or would consider doing so in the future. Moreover, 93% say online reviews influence what they buy online.
Analyzing reviews can help you spot recurring complaints or identify areas where you’re exceeding expectations. You can also understand how customers perceive your brand and adjust your messaging accordingly.
Competitor Reviews
Competitor reviews are another overlooked source of behavioral data.
Reading feedback about competitors’ products or services can reveal gaps in the market that you can fill. For instance, if users frequently complain about a feature your product excels in, it’s an opportunity to highlight that strength in your marketing campaigns.
Competitor reviews also offer valuable insights into customers’ preferences and overarching trends within your industry.
Types of Behavioral Data You Should Know About
Understanding different types of behavioral data will help you develop strategies that deliver results. Here are the types of customer behavior data every marketer should know about.
Interaction-Based Data
This data shows you how users engage with your site so you can fix slow-loading pages or confusing menus.
This includes clicks, navigation patterns, and time spent on specific pages. For example, if users leave after clicking a specific link, you might need to adjust the content it leads to.
Content Engagement
Likes, shares, and time spent watching videos or reading blogs will tell you what types of content resonate most with your audience.
This data helps you create more engaging material that convinces people to keep coming back for more. For instance, if a particular topic gets a lot of shares, you can expand on it in future posts.
Data From E-Commerce Activities
E-commerce accounts for about 20% of global retail sales. This means there are plenty of behavioral patterns to track, like shopping cart activity, purchase history, and checkout behaviors, to understand buying habits.
For instance, if users are abandoning their carts, your behavioral data may point to issues like unexpected fees or a confusing checkout process.
Authentication Data
Log-in attempts and session duration data can show you how engaged users are. Authentication data is especially helpful for spotting loyal customers and rewarding them with exclusive offers.
Best Practices in Behavioral Data Collection and Analysis
Behavioral data collection is like completing a puzzle — it’s meaningful only when the pieces fit perfectly.
Here are some practical ways to ensure you’re getting the most out of your data.
Segmentation Techniques
Break your audience down into smaller groups based on shared traits like browsing behaviors or purchase history to make your marketing campaigns feel more personal.
For example, one group might appreciate discounts, while another responds to loyalty rewards. Behavioral segmentation ensures your efforts feel personal and relevant, ultimately driving better results.
Steps for Effective Segmentation
To effectively segment your audience:
- Analyze behavior patterns: Look for shared actions, like repeat purchases or abandoned carts.
- Use a CRM or analytics tool: Group users by traits like location, age, or past interactions.
- Customize your messaging: Tailor all of your marketing content, emails, ads, and offers to meet each group’s preferences.
When done right, segmentation improves your engagement and builds stronger customer trust.
Funnel Analysis
A funnel analysis is a simple way to track and understand the steps users take to move through your sales process. It shows you exactly where users lose interest, whether it’s at a slow-loading page, a confusing checkout process, or an unclear call to action.
A funnel analysis helps you pinpoint where you’re losing users and how to fix the issue.
How to Do a Funnel Analysis
- Define your funnel stages: Break the user journey down into smaller steps, like visiting your homepage, viewing a product, and checking out. This helps you focus on places where users might drop off.
- Collect and visualize your data: Use tools like Google Analytics to track actions and create a detailed funnel chart.
- Analyze your drop-off points: Use tools like surveys or session recordings to look at the stages with the most drop-offs and figure out why.
- Optimize and test your changes: Fix the issues by simplifying the steps, clarifying your CTA, or speeding up your load times. Then, test your changes to see what works best.
- Monitor and adjust regularly: Track your funnel to spot new issues and regularly make tweaks to ensure it remains effective.
A/B Testing
Test two versions of a campaign to see which one performs better. Behavioral data tracking will show you what your audience prefers, whether it’s a different call to action or a simpler layout.
How to Do A/B Testing
- Identify what to test: You can test your design, your message, or your timing.
- Create two versions: Develop two variations of the element you want to test. For instance, create one CTA with a red button and another one with a blue button.
- Split your audience: Randomly divide your audience into two groups, with each one seeing a different version of the element being tested.
- Run the test: Show the different versions to each group simultaneously and track their behaviors. Analytics tools can help you track metrics like click-through rate, conversion rate, or time spent on page.
- Analyze and the results: Complete the test and implement the winning version for your entire audience.
Behavioral Analytics Use Cases
Behavioral data offers real-world applications that can change the way you connect with your audience:
Understanding Customer Behaviors
What do your customers love, and where exactly do they get stuck? Answering these questions can be as easy as looking into your behavioral data. For instance, you can track which products get the most views or clicks. Then, launch a promotion that resonates and stock up accordingly.
Behavioral data helps you identify pain points, like users abandoning a particular page, so you can fix the issues and improve their experience. Knowing what drives customers’ actions can help you adjust your approach to meet their needs.
It’s an effective way to build a stronger connection between your brand and your audience.
Tailoring Marketing Efforts and Campaigns
Use behavioral data to take the guesswork out of your marketing campaigns and deliver what your audience really wants. For example, you can segment users based on their browsing history and send personalized email promotions.
You can also track which types of content or ads get the most engagement and then focus your efforts there. You can then create more effective campaigns and increase the chances of converting casual browsers into loyal customers.
Your marketing campaigns no longer have to feel like intrusive advertising but more like a conversation.
Optimizing Product Development
When you know which features your customers love — and which they ignore — you can focus on offerings that truly meet their needs.
Behavioral data reveals usage patterns, like how often customers use or skip a specific feature. This helps you prioritize updates and create products that solve real problems for your customers, keeping them coming back for more.
You can also identify common requests or pain points through support logs or feedback data.
Boosting Customer Retention
Did you know that acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times more than retaining an existing one? Behavioral data helps you spot early warning signs of customer churn, like reduced activity or fewer log-ins.
Once you spot these patterns, you can take steps to re-engage your customers. For example, you could send personalized offers or a quick survey. Then, use a loyalty program or incentives to reward long-time users and keep them connected.
Unlock the Power of Behavioral Data Signals With AXi Predictor
Look around you: Customers are performing a variety of digital activities every day. And with the right tools and techniques, you can capture all of that behavioral data and use it to develop strategies that truly connect.
AUDIENCEX’s AXi Predictor takes it further, analyzing first-party and log-level data to create self-optimizing predictive models. With the industry’s largest opted-in dataset and advanced machine learning, you can achieve unparalleled personalization, leading to more conversions than ever.
Imagine accurately predicting your customers’ next move and tailoring your campaigns in real time. AXi Predictor does just that — helping you consistently outperform your competitors.
Ready to discover how behavioral data can shake up your marketing strategy? Contact us today and explore the possibilities.