Your Greed for Personal Information Stops You From Being Successful
We want to know as much as possible about our customers; those who pay for our bread and butter.
So let’s face it: we are all greedy, especially for data. It’s so damn easy to collect personal information, and many people hand it out readily, here and there!
But ever so often, “greed stops us from achieving true greatness”. This true for your online shop too.
To solve your customer’s problem, i.e. fulfil the order, all you need is this:
- First & last name
- Email address
- Delivery address and / or billing address
- Payment information
What else do you request from your customers right now? And, do you actually make use of your surplus of personal details?
The most obvious example: date of birth. Do you send your customers a special birthday email? Can you justify, apart from your own business interest, why you require that piece of information?
Make a good case why you need personal information
Most customers just want to complete their purchase and receive their product. They’re not really interested in you re-using their data for whatever helps your business.
They are tired of being asked for favours from all sorts of companies.
How many times do you refuse to take part in post-sales customer surveys? How often do you try to avoid sales people on the street?
If you collect personal information, see it from your customer’s perspective.
Stop thinking about your own needs and start thinking about what they want.