l, the first question we should all ask is how will it benefit our customers? As long ago as the mid-90s, Jeff Bezos told delegates at a major book fair that his business wasn’t books; it was the data he’d use to revolutionise customer behaviour and preferences. Many are concerned about the cost of content production, systems to manage opt-ins and consumer preferences, and local data protection regulations. However, the insights from these investments pay dividends not only in effective customer acquisition for your brand, but also through insights into market trends influencing product range and customer fulfilment preferences.  Behavioural analytics, while not new, are becoming more common as more retailers than ever are shifting focus back onto providing a personalised experience with every marketing channel they adopt. Take Uber, which uses location data and knowledge about local conditions (such as transit strikes, roadworks and location) to suggest the best route home within its service. As they expand their services, the app now provides a single view into the full range of delivery services they offer from the home screen, using a ‘Picked just for you’ page to direct their customers to services they are likely to prefer. How to get personal In many ways, it’s not even about the platform. It’s up to retailers to prioritise collecting and synthesising data from every channel to ensure you’re providing the best possible experiences. Your customers are much more than their digital identifiers, such as email addresses, phone numbers, or social media handles. Traditional demographic segmentation is no longer enough in today’s competitive digital market. In contrast, today’s data capture enables brands to glimpse the array of interests that enables a deeper picture of each customer at scale. The trick is to establish an ecosystem to learn about your customers’ preferences as much as possible to draw the insights that allow you to really ‘know’ them. Some of the things you need to do to complete the picture are; Trend awareness Knowing enough about who your customer is can give you invaluable clues to predict what else they like or want. Building on interactions with your brand and adding other shopping, sports, and entertainment behaviours through an ecosystem of partners based on similar behavioural interests opens up even greater personalisation capabilities. Using the results will help you further finesse your customer profiles. Use the interactions you have to build a 360-degree view of your customer beyond their purchase history. Market segmentation Personalised preferences let you break down the way customers want to engage with you and establish new segmentations capitalising on their behaviours. Today’s technologies enable personalisation at scale which allows you to create experiences that feel unique to each individual customer across all channels where they interact with your brand. Data analysis Investing in new data analysis techniques pays significant dividends for retailers who experience both uplifts in sales (frequency of purchase, basket size, and online conversion rate) and reduced customer acquisition costs. Insights can include spotting a surprising preference you wouldn’t have considered for a specific customer group or finding a new shopping pattern emerging, in particular geographies allowing you to take action to leverage these insights. Supply chain precision By understanding the patterns of in-store shopping, curbside pickup, and home delivery, you’ll be left with a very detailed plan about what customers want and where they are. This information will save time and money by adjusting your supply chain to suit new consumer patterns. No more sending one of everything everywhere to see what works and what doesn’t. Discovery Here’s the other thing about all these new channels. In many cases, your plugged-in customers will love and use them before you even know they exist. In such a competitive market, authentic personalised experiences developed from the deep treasure trove of behavioural data will deliver considerably more than just appearing on the latest platforms.