Companies capture data in many ways from many sources. Some  collection methods are highly technical, while others are more deductive (although these processes often employ sophisticated software).

The bottom line, though, is that companies are using a cornucopia of  collection methods and sources to capture and process customer data on  metrics, with interest in types of data ranging from demographic data to behavioral data, said Liam Hanham, data science manager at Workday.

Companies also dig deep into their customer service records to see how customers have interacted with sales and support departments in the past. Here, they are incorporating  direct feedback about what worked and what didn’t, what a customer liked and disliked, on a grand scale.

A good starting point from which to source data is user activity on your website and social media pages. You can also gather data through  customer phone calls and live chats. Many businesses also leverage zero-party data — information that customers voluntarily share through  surveys, preferred companies and loyalty programs.

More sophisticated methods have gained popularity, too. One example is geofencing and location-based advertising, which uses tracking technologies such as an internet-connected device’s IP address (and the other devices it interacts with — your laptop may  interact with your mobile device, and vice versa) to build a  personalized data profile. This information is then used to target  users’ devices with personalized, relevant advertising.