Squeezing Dollars from your Data

It wasn't all that long ago that marketers believed the best way to sell their product was through the 4P's and clever creative. However with the growth of digital marketing channels and the ability to measure almost any internet and digital activity this attitude has changed. Marketing has a new king and its name is data.

Data allows marketers to sell products based on relevance rather than pure advertising creativity or product features. Marketers who have discovered the value of database marketing understand that their dollars are in their data. The more they invest in building their database and analysing its contents to identify relevant customer insights, the more profitable their businesses can become.

The use of data and the ability to draw actionable insights from it is no longer the domain of a select few. This capability is now a critical competency for marketing professionals as companies attempt to deal with increasing market pressures and competition from rival brands.

The measurability of digital channels means that marketers are surrounded by a mass of data. The challenge is not so much the ability to collect data, in fact through every interaction with the brand customers reveal information about themselves all the time. The challenge lies in turning the raw information into relevant customer insights.

Customer insights can be identified by 'reading' your data. This means interpreting the information you have about your customers and developing hypotheses based I these interpretations. Testing these hypotheses will eliminate any incorrect theories and what you will be left with is high value customer insights.

Customer insights are your weapon against competitors because they act as your strongest foundations on which to develop highly targeted and engaging marketing campaigns. Consumer tolerance for anything but relevant, timely and engaging communications is quickly running out. Marketers can move away from mass marketing to engagement on an individual level by using their customer insights to develop data driven marketing campaigns and strategies.

Data-driven marketing strategies not only provide marketers with a way to increase the relevance of their marketing messages but also improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing campaigns. When you know what your customer wants, how they want it and when they want it, you no longer have to waste valuable marketing dollars guessing.

As relevance and timeliness of communications are maintained customer loyalty increases and so does the purchase behaviour of customers. In the long term this translates to stronger customer relationships and increased customer lifetime value.

For a greater return on investment the best approach is to measure, test and adjust your campaigns and at all times follow what your data is telling you. Testing message, creative and offer combinations by analysing customer responses to each will help define a scientifically proven marketing strategy that drives sales results.

It is important to the success of your campaigns that appropriate systems are in place to track, record and analyse customer response data. Without these systems the capability to effectively carry out tracking and analysis is heavily diminished.

Today's business market is changing rapidly. Those who properly master the understanding of how, what, and why customers purchase and who are able to influence buying decisions with highly targeted marketing efforts are set to come out on top.