Getting access to your marketing data is simple, but the hard part is figuring out how to use it. For example, how do you combine all your data streams – your website, social media pages and sales information – to understand the big picture? Data is abundant in today’s day and age and it can be extremely overwhelming. As a result, many organisations shy away from the stats, but this is a huge mistake. Research shows companies that turn their data into insights are far better at identifying threats or opportunities, leading to much faster performance and more growth. Here are five simple ways to make the most of your marketing data:
1.Define your goal
What do you want to achieve with your future marketing campaigns? Whether you want to corner a new segment of the market, build a stronger brand community among your current clients or introduce a new product, clearly defining your goal is the first step. When you know what you want to achieve from your marketing, making sense of your data becomes far less daunting. By having a clear question in place, you cut out all the useless information and keep only the most relevant, which is why a goal-oriented approach is key.
2.Build your framework
Now that you’ve got your goals set out, the only information you need to consider are the bits that answer your question. Rank your data by how well it answers this question and how directly it relates to your intended goal. With the most important data at the top, you’ll then need to segment your data into separate groups. For example, if your goal is to increase your sales within a specific market sector, you’ll need to pull apart all the information you have about that sector, the different kinds of customers you serve and their purchasing habits for this target market. It’s this process of segmenting and filtering where you start to draw insights from the information, so always be thorough during this step.
3.Bring insights to life
With your insights in front of you, you can now profile your customer – how and why they purchase products, their interests and how they spend their time. Don’t stop here though – getting stuck on single insights can cause you to lose sight of your goals. Put yourself into your customers’ shoes. Don’t think of your customer numerically, but rather, think of them as human: who are they? what are their interests? What frustrates them? What makes them tick? Data best achieves your goal when its used to tell a meaningful story, not when it’s a bunch of numbers on a database. This is why viewing your target market on a personal level is so important.
Having the right data will allow you to think beyond the curve. You’ll be able to make business decisions with more confidence, sending you leaps ahead of the competition. Merryn Bourne Creative can help you turn your data into marketing intelligence. We solve business problems, providing organisations with the right approach to engage audiences and deliver the bottom-line results they’re looking for. Whether you need to review your current marketing or start afresh, we will write and implement the strategy to increase your brand reputation, market attractiveness and the overall velocity of your sales. For more detailed information, contact us today.