Unlock Customer Growth with Simple Data Insights for Your Small Business

In this episode of the Talk About Digital Podcast, Customer Growth Coach & Speaker Mark A Preston simplifies the world of data and analytics, showing small and medium-sized business owners how to use data to understand their customers and make smarter business decisions. Forget complex graphs and overwhelming numbers—Mark breaks it down into easy, practical steps that help you harness data as a powerful tool for growth.

What Will You Learn?

Mark dives into how data can reveal insights about what’s working, what’s not, and how customers are interacting with your business. He explains that data isn’t about spreadsheets and tech jargon—it’s simply a way to spot trends and make small, effective changes that drive customer growth. By listening to this episode, you’ll discover:

• Understanding Customer Behaviour: Mark explains how to use data to understand customer patterns and needs. From foot traffic to website visits, these basic metrics give you insight into what your customers enjoy most and where you might need to improve.
• Boosting Conversions: Learn how to track conversion rates—the percentage of people who take the next step, whether it’s a purchase or a signup. Mark’s advice will help you assess the effectiveness of your website and marketing messages in guiding potential customers to act.
• Maximising Repeat Customers: Repeat business is gold for small businesses. Mark discusses how to recognise patterns in returning customers, allowing you to cater to their preferences and encourage loyalty.

Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners:

• Start Small and Focused: Mark encourages business owners to start with just a few key metrics that directly relate to their goals, avoiding data overwhelm.
• Practical Tools for Tracking: Discover free and simple tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and easy observation methods that make tracking customer behaviour straightforward and accessible.
• Turn Data into Actionable Changes: Mark shares how to use small insights from data to make tweaks in your offerings or marketing approach. These aren’t sweeping changes but practical adjustments based on real customer behaviour that can have a meaningful impact on your bottom line.

TAD Takeaway: Mark’s advice for this episode is to choose one specific goal, track its progress, and start noticing patterns. Whether it’s boosting a particular product’s sales or bringing in more repeat customers, focusing on one area will show you how even simple data can reveal opportunities for growth.

If you’re ready to unlock the power of data for customer growth without the hassle, this episode is a must-listen!

Connect with the Host - Mark A Preston:

Website: https://www.markapreston.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markprestonseo/
X: https://x.com/MarkPreston1969
Mark's Latest Book: Customer Growth Unlocked

This podcast is produced by Voice It Podcast Agency
https://voiceitpodcastagency.co.uk

Transcript

[00:00:00] Mark A Preston: Welcome to Talk About Digital, the podcast for small and medium sized businesses looking to grow new customers through impactful, low cost digital marketing strategies. Have you invested in digital marketing with zero positive impact? If this sounds like you, then this is the place for you. Each week, we provide actionable steps to move your business forward with our TAD takeaway, helping you to harness your biggest asset, yourself, to achieve big impact with minimal investment.

[00:00:36] Stay tuned as we dive into the world of digital marketing, offering insights and advice that will transform your business. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the talk about digital podcast. I'm Mark A. Preston, your host. I'm a customer growth coach here to make digital tools easy to understand and helpful for your small business.

[00:01:01] Today, we are talking about something that might seem a bit technical data and analytics, but hang on, don't tune out. This isn't about complicated numbers or fancy graphs. We are going to look at how simple data can help you understand your customers better and grow your small business. By the end of this episode, we'll see that data is really just a tool to show you what's working, what's not, and what your customers actually want.

[00:01:31] So stick around. We are making data and analytics totally relatable and practical. Alright, let's start by breaking down what data and analytics actually mean in a real world way. Think of data as bits of information people leave behind when they interact with your business. It's kind of like a trail of footprints your customers leave whenever they visit your shop, call you up, or pop by your website.

[00:02:06] And analytics is just following those footprints to understand what customers are doing. They're spotting patterns, picking up on things that are working well, and maybe noticing some things that aren't working well. It's about understanding customer behavior. And with that knowledge, you can make changes.

[00:02:31] Your business to grow. Let me give you an example. Imagine you run a local bakery. Every morning you notice people love to buy fresh coffee and pastries. But by the afternoon, things start to slow down. That's a pattern, a bit of data you've picked up on from observing what customers are doing. So what if you use that information to start an afternoon happy hour, offering coffee and pastries at a small discount to attract more people in those quieter hours.

[00:03:09] That's analytics in a nutshell. You noticed a pattern and made a small change that could help bring in more people. More customers, data and analytics can help with customer growth because they show you what's working, what your customers enjoy and what might need a bit of tweak and the best part, you don't need to be an expert or have full knowledge.

[00:03:35] Fancy tools to start picking up on these patterns. If you're new to thinking about data, the key is to start small. You don't need to track every little detail. Just focus on a few basic things that give you a sense of what's happening in your business. For a lot of small businesses, three things are particularly helpful to start paying attention to.

[00:04:03] First, there's foot traffic or website visitors. If you're a bricks and mortar shop, think of it as the number of people who came through your front door each day. If you're online, it's the number of visitors to your website. This is your starting point, knowing how many people are showing up and where they're coming from.

[00:04:27] Are they finding you on social media? Are they hearing about you through word of mouth? Or are they just walking by your storefront? Understanding where people are coming from helps you see which parts of your marketing are working. Then there's conversions, which is just a fancy way of saying How many people are buying or signing up out of everyone who walks or visits your website?

[00:04:59] How many are actually making a purchase or taking that next step? This number gives you an idea of how appealing your offer is or how effective your website is at guiding people to buy. Finally, there's repeat customers. These are the people who come back time and time again and they're often your biggest supporters.

[00:05:24] How often are people returning to buy more? Are there certain things they're consistently coming back for? Noticing your repeat customers and what they love most can give you ideas for keeping them happy and even attracting new people like them. Just these three pieces of data, thought traffic.

[00:05:48] conversions and repeat customers. You're always. Gathering some of the most valuable insights about what your customers like and how they're behaving. All right, now let's talk about some tools that make this even easier. If you have a website, Google Analytics is a great tool for tracking website visitors.

[00:06:12] And the best part, it's free. It will show you how many people are visiting. where they're coming from and which pages they're most interested in. If you're active on social media, platforms like Facebook and Instagram have built in tools that let you see which posts are getting the most attention. What times of the day people are most engaged and even some basic information about who your followers are.

[00:06:43] For bricks and mortar stores, sometimes. Simple observation or even a guest log can work wonders. You don't need advanced software to get a sense of when your shop is busiest or what products people tend to buy together. Keeping notes or asking your team to report trends. Their notice can be just as valuable.

[00:07:10] These tools help you track your footprints without you needing to become an expert in analytics. They're just ways to check in and get a feel for what your customers like. So now, That you know what to track the next step is making those little tweaks that help you to grow Say you notice that a certain product on your website is getting lots of clicks But not many people are actually buying it that Could be a sign that people are interested, but something might be holding them back.

[00:07:49] Maybe it's worth tweaking the description or offering a small discount to encourage people to buy. Or if you're noticing that pause, With customer stories gets a lot of attention on social media. That's a signal to do more of them. People clearly enjoy hearing from others who've had a good experience with your business.

[00:08:13] So keep sharing those stories. And for your in person shop, if you see people buying certain products together, think about. Bundling those items into a special deal. Small changes like this, inspired by real data, help you respond to what customers are showing they want. The goal isn't to make big sweeping changes.

[00:08:39] It's to notice the little things and make small adjustments that could lead to more customers and more repeat business. Before we finish up, let's go over a couple of common mistakes people make when they start looking at data. The first one is trying to track too much. It's easy to think you need to know every little detail, but That can quickly overwhelm.

[00:09:07] Start with just a few things that matter for your business, and you'll still be ahead of the game. Next, don't make assumptions. Sometimes we think we know what's best on our gut feelings. But sometimes the data tells us a different story. Let the numbers guide you to see what's really working and what might need a bit of change.

[00:09:34] And finally, be consistent. Analytics isn't something you need to check every day, but making it a habit to look at your numbers once a week. Or even once a month will help you spot trends over time. The more regularly you look, the better you'll understand your customers and be able to adapt. All right, let's wrap up with our TAD takeaway.

[00:10:01] A quick practical tip you can use straight away. Today's takeaway is. Pick one small goal to track and start noticing patterns. Maybe you want to see if you can bring in more repeat customers, or perhaps you'd like to increase sales of a specific product. Start with just one goal, track it, and pay attention to what you see.

[00:10:27] Even noticing small changes can help. Can give you valuable clues on how to adjust your approach. This simple focus on one goal lets you dip your toes into the world of data without feeling overwhelmed. And you'll start to see how tracking even one thing can give you powerful insights to grow your small business.

[00:10:52] Thanks for joining me. On the Talk About Digital podcast, I hope this episode has shown you how data doesn't have to be complicated. It's just a tool to help you understand your customers a little better and make choices that help your small business to grow. If you found this useful, let me know. Drop me a message on LinkedIn and let's chat about how else data can work for you.

[00:11:20] Until the next time, keep it simple, stay focused and remember, small actions lead to big results. I'm Mark A. Preston. Signing off for today. Thank you for tuning into the talk about digital podcast. Remember every small step you take brings you closer to your business goals. If you found today's episode helpful, subscribe to our podcast and sign up to your free 12 week tab customer growth course.

[00:11:48] At www. talkaboutdigital. co. uk to receive even more customer generating tips and insights. Until next time, keep harnessing your strengths and making actionable, impactful moves in your digital marketing journey. See you soon.