The digital transformation has taken place and online sales - which had already skyrocketed - are expected to continue to rise significantly worldwide over the next years.

Among the various causes for the growth of e-commerce, “personal security” and “convenience” are undoubtedly key factors in understanding the reason for the expansion of shopping through mobile devices and the increase in orders for services of the “click and collect” type - where consumers buy online and then pick up their purchases in stores.

If it is easy to understand the reason behind the increase in digital sales, it is even better to understand how this expansion can be useful for building more assertive marketing strategies in seasonal periods or in crises, such as the one we have been experiencing in recent times.

The benefit of having more consumers transacting online is that, in theory, each digital interaction should generate more information about their preferences. However, the reality is quite different from that, mainly due to the common neglect and, also, to the complexity of seeing data stored in completely disconnected and underused silos. That's why more marketers are turning to Master Data Management (MDM) solutions to centralize, refine, validate and enrich information stored in various systems and applications across the enterprise.

Proven, MDM tools help to ensure that campaigns and segmentations are being created in an assertive way, based on real and reliable data. The advanced analysis of this information, in a practical way, can be used to gain insights into customers, store locations, inventory and more, giving retailers a powerful advantage.

With a trusted database at the heart of their efforts, marketers will get more ROI from the systems they use – from marketing to the production line, passing through the most basic IT infrastructure. Furthermore, they avoid inefficiencies with unusable or inaccurate data that always result in wasted time and money analyzing duplicate matches.

From a productive point of view, such solutions help to generate a more efficient environment, creating more accurate, complete and up-to-date actionable data that also served as the basis for the development of an impactful marketing strategy. All this because MDM will allow a complete and unique view of consumer movements, real personalization of marketing campaigns and the improvement of the customer experience.

Briefly explained, by using a master data management tool, the company will be able to link consumers' contact information to their purchasing behavior and preferences, as well as analyze their recurring habits, to obtain information about other consumer groups. In other words, we are talking about a holistic view of customers, emphasizing what, in fact, is important for your business strategy. As a result, it's easier to segment campaigns and promotions based on target audience, creating a deeply personalized approach. It is worth mentioning, however, that in addition to thinking about how to customize campaigns using consumer data, MDM also offers the chance to visualize the real performance of each campaign – evaluating in detail all points.

Another opportunity these solutions open up is the ability to leverage data to improve the customer experience, whether providing personalized product recommendations based on a shopper's browsing history or ensuring that your e-commerce site is optimized for mobile devices. This means companies can create relevant experiences that not only attract consumers, but also generate loyalty. Market studies indicate that 84% of customers think that the experience a company offers is as important as its products and services, reinforcing the importance of improving the purchase journey.

By enhancing online marketing with actionable and accurate data, through smart systems, companies increase their marketing effectiveness and save money as well as improve ROI. With an improved understanding of their customers and more confidence in data, organizations can provide more customized products and services in more appropriate models, even in times of crisis or seasonality. Technology is the key to improving customer communication and support, resulting in more satisfaction – and greater revenue.

Source: Infochannel.