Behavioral Data: The truth behind the clicks – How to truly understand your customers!

Okay – behavioral data, sounds great. It immediately brings to mind behavioral science and perhaps attempts to explain human behavior using scientific methods. The idea that all behavior can be broken down into stimuli and responses. So: we are conditioned by advertising, we see a banner, we click on it. Spoiler alert: it’s not quite that simple. Between stimulus and response, we are bombarded with thoughts and feelings, perceptions, learning, planning, insights, and decisions, all of which depend on the personality of the observer and their experiences.
Isn’t that exciting? I always say that marketing can explain life itself, and it’s no coincidence that good marketers rely on the same foundations of psychology, sociology, and neurobiology as political science and criminology. Isn’t that amazing?
Well, that’s not what today is about. Unfortunately. Because we don’t have time for that. But behavioral data is a nice example of how marketing can be done when you know how.
Because I always say: if you take the time to launch a new product, campaign, or brand, you might as well do it right. 
Because customer surveys – which we also discussed in the last video on qualitative methods – are only part of the story. Because what if your customers’ behavior on your website reveals a completely different truth?

So, once again: behavioral data is – in today’s case – all information that is generated by your users’ actions and interactions with your digital offerings. This includes clicks, search queries on your website, opened emails, viewed videos, the use of certain app functions, and so on. This data allows you, firstly, to objectively analyze user behavior. This is better than pure survey results because it reflects actual behavior and is less influenced by social desirability or memory gaps.
For example, if many users visit a product page but only a few complete the purchase, then you need to take action – regardless of what your survey results said. 

Secondly, this data helps you identify patterns and critical points in the customer journey. Where do users leave the ordering process? Which content is used particularly intensively, which is ignored? Behavioral data provides you with precise answers. 
Thirdly, behavioral data forms the basis for effective personalization. If you know exactly what interests a customer—because you can see what they have looked at—you can show them relevant offers. 
Fourthly, behavioral data makes the success of your marketing measures measurable. How do click rates change after a design change? Does new text, a new headline, or new wording increase the length of time spent on the site? This is very specific data that tells you which direction to go in.

Where can you find this valuable data? You have web analytics tools, and there are a few good ones out there. However, you need to look at more than just page views; you need to look at user flows, conversion funnels, and event tracking for all possible interactions. 
What used to be done with eye tracking and eye movement measurement is now done with heat maps. Session recording tools also show click paths, scroll depths, and mouse movements to show how users interact with your content. That’s true for your website, but your CRM system also contains behavioral data, such as your customers’ interaction history. And an email marketing platform provides you with information on opening and clicking behavior. Yes, all of this is overwhelming for seasoned marketing managers, but as a manager, you need to take the time to understand these different data sources and, where possible and sensible, link them together to get a coherent picture of user behavior.

Now, if you’re not new to the field, you might be getting annoyed because you’re thinking, “That’s all well and good in theory, but I can’t measure it because I’m not allowed to.”

Yes, the consent rate is only 20 to 50 percent, and there are outliers. What I mean is consent to the processing of your data, which you always see when you visit a website. If you don’t consent, you can’t be monitored. Let’s get straight to what you can do about that.

First of all, the sheer volume of data is not decisive. You can do a lot with the little data you have. What is really much more important is the correct interpretation of the data. And there’s a lot that can go wrong here: 

Mistake number 1: Correlation is not causation. Not every connection you find in the data implies a direct cause-and-effect mechanism. Just because two things happen at the same time or one after the other does not mean that one directly causes the other. Imagine your data shows that whenever the sun shines, more folks buy ice cream AND more folks buy sunglasses. So there is a correlation between ice cream sales and sunglasses sales. But do people buy sunglasses because they buy ice cream? Of course not. Here, you need to find the real driver and not fall for spurious correlations.

Mistake number 2: Data silos. The reality is that information is often still isolated in different departments. Your marketing team has performance data, sales has all the information about inquiries and deals in CRM, and customer service documents support tickets and customer feedback – but no one systematically shares their data with the others. You may see in marketing that a customer clicked on an ad, but you don’t see that they contacted support three days later because they were dissatisfied with the product – information that sales would need. This means you’re missing out on huge opportunities to really understand your customers. And you’re leaving potential on the table.

And now for mistake number 3, which is of central importance: the restrictions imposed by the General Data Protection Regulation. Many people are sitting there like rabbits caught in headlights, making life difficult for themselves. Yes, of course we need a cookie consent banner. But you can design it in such a way that it invites visitors to reject everything, or you can explain to your customers in a nice, funny way why it is to their advantage if we are allowed to use certain data. After all, who doesn’t want to find their way around a website better and faster? Who wants to be bothered with offers or content that they’re not interested in? See, that’s exactly where you can make a difference! Instead of a daunting wall of legal text, you can design a consent banner that highlights the benefits for the user.

So use clear, simple language: explain briefly and clearly what data you want to use for what purpose and how the visitor benefits from it. And make it easy for them to make an informed decision. No hidden buttons, no manipulative wording, and no dark patterns of any kind. It’s about trust, not trickery. 
When users understand why they are consenting and see real value, the data you collect will ultimately be of higher quality. At this point, think more globally about your first-party data strategy: if you obtain data in direct exchange with your customers, after a login, a newsletter subscription, or as part of a clear service promise, then these insights are much more robust because the context of data use is much more transparent and consent is based on an existing relationship.

So, take this behavioral data and link it to sensible customer studies, then you will know your customers, then you can do marketing. Then a new era will begin for you, where you simply stop doing things that don’t interest your customers and focus on what folks want to hear and buy. Then customers feel embraced and understood, and they start to love your brand. And that’s what I call a marketing turnaround. Yes, it takes empathy. And not everyone has that. And then we probably won’t work together. But that’s just the way it is. No offer is right for all customers.

How do you see it? Do you REALLY want to understand your customers? I can help you with that. My name is Christian Jourdant, and I’ll take care of your marketing turnaround. See you again soon!

Subtitles available in English and Spanish.