Today’s consumer is engaging in more channels and across more devices than ever before. Smart fridges, wearables are already in that list of devices. This does pose a great challenge for brands. Of interest to every marketer, today is how to permeate the noise and really engage our audience. In walks analytics.
This brings us to why you need to develop an analytic strategy
As the saying goes, trust in God, everything else bring the data. It’s a challenge for all marketers to start making data-informed decisions rather than gut-driven ones. This starts by developing the right analytic strategy. With analytics, you can refine data. How do I achieve this?
1. Have the right tools for each channel or business division
You wouldn’t go about cutting down a tree with a razor, would you? The same approach applies to data. You, however, require the right tool to make sense of the available data. Luckily, there a number of such tools and at a low/zero cost of entry.
Before deciding on the right tools, identify your mediums following the Paid (P), Owned (O), Earned (E) and Shared (S) model. To give an example;
- Paid media – PPC, Social Ads etc
- Owned media – website, blog, email
- Earned – SEO, direct traffic
- Shared – influencer marketing, referral links, social media posts
All these mediums should be measurable either by one or a combination of tools.
2. Segment your data
Unless you only have one customer, segmentation is of the essence. It helps you understand your business inward and for customers to differentiate you from the competition. Building these buckets of data helps to;
- Communicate more effectively
- Allocate budget wisely
- Improve resource management and even drive revenue growth
3. Have a data-led culture in your organization
It’s not enough to say we are a data driven organization. This is a culture that needs to be ingrained in everything the organization does – from recruiting, project management, marketing to sales. According to the Econsultancy 2019 trends report, Companies with a highly unified technology stack are 131% more likely to have significantly outperformed their top 2018 business goal. In the same report, Most marketers (55%) expect better use of data for more effective audience segmentation and targeting.
An analytics culture is far more important than any tool or technique. Without culture, you can buy it but it will not be implemented. Culture isn’t written on walls or added to a slide, it’s lived. It’s the rhythm of the organization. So how do you achieve a data-led culture?
It comes down to process and behavior.
- Create a top-down process of how decisions are made with reference to data. Integrate the right tools in order to collect this data. Have an open data policy.
- Behavior – with processes in place, encourage a shift in how work is done. Management has a significant impact on this. Encourage knowledge/data sharing among colleagues. Commit to following earlier defined processes.
Just as it’s with success, culture isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. Often it’s a journey of a thousand miles. Be patient and resilient.
Lastly, it’s important to understand that data is the oil that will drive your business forward. Without data, you’re pretty much walking around blindfolded.
