In the world of business marketing, data is everywhere and should be leveraged in all plans and strategies. From customer data and trends to industry benchmarks and more, these different data points and sources allow businesses to understand better where they are and create a plan for where they want to be. While capturing as much information as possible can be tempting, you won't get far without the right strategies to properly understand and effectively use this data.
Brands often struggle to use data meaningfully if data isn't structured for analysis or if no marketing data-driven strategy is in place. Reviewing data alone does not lead to actionable insight or usable roadmaps for a company's next steps. And while it requires analysis to become information and further context to become insight, together, it can tell a compelling story that can lead to strategic change.
With the right tools, people, and support in place, this can be a reality for your business.
3 Components of a Data-Driven Strategy
Marketing analytics is the practice of using data to evaluate the effectiveness and success of marketing activities. That data must be collected, analyzed, and reported to understand how it fits the overarching business strategy and goals. This data can also be used to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, track customer behavior, optimize marketing strategies, and more.
Tracking key metrics and analyzing the data can identify trends and patterns that indicate what's working and what's not in any industry. You can then use this information to tweak your marketing strategy and achieve better results. But you must develop a solid marketing analytics strategy to improve your marketing effectiveness. This will allow you to collect accurate and timely data, analyze it for insights, and take action based on those insights.
1. Data insight
A successful data strategy transforms a company's data into informative insights and financial gains — but it shouldn't stop with simple reports and charts. If you want to make effective decisions for your business, big data analytics must be considered in everything you do. This is where marketing analytics comes in.
Without data insights to create meaningful conclusions, businesses' guesses of what customers want, how they will grow, and so much more is simply that – a guess. Data insights allow you to see trends, predict future patterns, understand your customers, and paint a larger picture of your business. Data also allows you to track progress and adjust accordingly, so you always know what tweaks and changes within the company are impacting your bottom line.
2. Data management
Once you have the data insights, you have to collect and manage them somewhere. Having a data analytics and business intelligence expert on your team can help you know what to do with this information, but that in-house person doesn't exist for many businesses. Cue a data management consultant partner you can trust.
Working with a consulting partner to help you leverage the power of your data is crucial in getting the most out of all of the customer marks you're collecting. And with security a top concern for many businesses, storing that data safely is just as important as gathering it.
At WCI, we help businesses organize, optimize, and analyze their data to make more informed and profitable data-driven decisions. Learn more about how WCI works with companies to manage, collect, and store data.
3. Team Enablement
You have the data. You've stored the data. Now you're ready to analyze and share the findings with your team. When used effectively, data can unleash new potential for any business. But what happens when your team can't access or interpret it? Your data is only valuable when technical expertise can use it to improve your organization and profit.
Team enablement is part of our process at WCI, as we walk teams through training sessions that help them get the most out of sharing their data and analytics in one centralized place. Vital training for you and your team helps ensure the technology you're using gets adopted into your workflow and you get the most out of your new solution and data findings.
Building a Data-Driven Strategy
A data strategy is paramount to success and must be implemented to maximize your business intelligence. With a marketing strategy that considers data and how to use it, organizing can drive more leads, discover better opportunities, make smarter decisions, create a better company culture, provide more value to customers and employees, and so much more. These insights can completely transform the way a business operates for the better.
Feel Empowered to make Data-Driven Decisions
You can leverage analytics in your overall marketing strategy and business growth plans by compiling your data and an experienced team of experts who know how to make the most of it.
At WCI, we are data management consultants that help businesses organize, optimize, and analyze their business data to make more informed and profitable data-driven decisions. In addition, we help you better tie together business data from your entire company to stay better informed and discover opportunities. Get a free on-site discovery session with our team today. Click here to see other clients that WCI has helped.
