Why you shouldn’t forget about data-driven marketing
Our economy is now more data-driven than ever before. Responsible data-driven marketing is the single largest market in which data is used, deriving more value from data than any other market. Have you ever thought about it?
Smart marketers already know that implementing Big Data analytics makes sense. The ability to process massive data inputs to render new insights about customers and markets is simply way too important to be overlooked. Every marketing organization needs to make better decisions. Relying only on experience-driven, gut-based decision-making in marketing is rather foolish in the digital age.
Most marketers already leverage data such as customer service data, customer satisfaction data, digital interaction data and demographic data. But the new era of data-driven marketing combines collecting and connecting large amounts of data, rapidly analyzing it and gaining insights, and then bringing those insights to market via marketing interactions tailored to what's relevant for each customer.
By now you’ve probably heard about the dad who found out his daughter was pregnant when Target sent her coupons for baby items. This is maybe a bit exaggerated, but it is how targeted campaigns work.
How can you do it better? Data-driven marketing is good. But the purpose of marketing is to win customers, keep them by making sure they have a great experience and make them spend more with you, — therefore, customer-driven marketing is better.
Use data to personalize the entire brand experience. Leverage customer data for more than just advertising. Allow customers to create personalized defaults to shape their on-going interactions with you. Customize your website — content, UI, microsites — for different consumers. By allowing consumers to customize their own experience, they become partners in the personalization, rather than passive recipients.
Act quickly and accurately. Most data has a relatively short life, particularly in marketing. You can target car ads at a customer during the week when he is searching for a new car — but half a year later, that data that identified him as in the market for a car is obsolete. Although there may be some value in knowing that the customer wanted to buy a car, we should avoid believing he still is in the market for a car.
Know your boundaries and use common sense. You don’t have to use every bit of information you get from Big Data. Don’t infer around sensitive topics or be too familiar — it makes you look just like a stalker. Marketers need to use their own empathy and judgment. The sensible answer for most companies is a balance of data analytics and human judgment.
Help data work for customers, not against them. Imagine new ways to use data — to serve customers, rather than yourself. Share your knowledge with them! Show them how their behavior compares to others, or provide tools for tracking, analyzing, and even exporting their transaction history. Be transparent and let consumers have some control over their data, and they might just share even more.
In the new era of tight marketing budgets, no organization can continue to spend on marketing without knowing what's working and what's wasted. Data-driven marketing improves efficiency and effectiveness of marketing expenditures.
Find out what your data say about your customers' behavior. No need for projects, PhDs or data crunching. A simple registration - and off you go!
