Maintaining strong bonds with clients is key in order for an organization to continue generating revenue from existing clients and bringing in new prospects. Companies that don’t take the initiative to develop close relationships with their partners could lose them to other firms or fail to attract new business. Just as many operations have gotten their client management down and determined what strategies to employ when it comes to connecting with clients and customers, a new trend has threatened to change things drastically.
News about big data is everywhere lately – even on our blog – and business owners can’t escape it. It’s becoming more important for companies to store, track and analyze information about their clients and prospects. This allows entrepreneurs, marketers and salespeople to better understand buyer needs, industry trends and better address any concerns. It can also help improve sales effectiveness, something every company leader desires, and serve as a business builder.
However, with our recent talk on the subject, we wanted to highlight that the issues that surround big data. Companies that hoard information can run into significant client management issues. This makes it essential for an entrepreneur considering implementing some sort of big data project to understand the potential implications and how any client concerns can be addressed.
Invasion of Privacy
Having more information on hand allows business owners to better understand purchasing habits among specific customers and trends throughout the company as a whole. But the detailed figures it gives an entrepreneur access to can be off-putting to some clients, especially if it’s used for highly targeted marketing campaigns or mentioned in a meeting.
Some clients may feel uncomfortable or as though they’re being tracked if an entrepreneur’s embrace of big data comes to light, making it important for a company to utilize this information carefully and never intrude on a partner’s boundaries. Those that feel as though their privacy is at stake or assume they’ve become just another customer, rather than a long-term and important client, may move on and form new relationships with other firms.
Create a Strategy to Use Data Efficiently
While many entrepreneurs aren’t concerned about how big data will impact the relationships they’ve spent years cultivating, it’s important for them to take this into consideration when investing in a new system. Improperly using this information or storing sensitive data may not go over well with some clients.
A business owner should first and foremost consider why big data will benefit his or her business. What makes big data necessary to a company’s survival? What will the repercussions be if an entrepreneur decides to skip the trend? Will the information make a significant impact on company operations?
After deciding whether big data is a necessity, company leaders should decide what stored data will be used for. Keeping the information for targeted email marketing campaigns or to determine enterprise trends is one thing, but initiatives can sometimes spiral out of control and make long-term clients feel as though they lack privacy when doing business with a firm. Set guidelines should dictate what big data will be used for and how a company will prevent plans from intruding on partners.
As big data begins to take over the business world, entrepreneurs need to think carefully about how hoarding information can work to their advantage, as well as alienate their long-time clients. Personalization is everything when it comes to building strong business relationships, but the foundations a company leader worked hard to build can be destroyed when clients feel they lack privacy and look for new partners.
