HOW TO CAPITALIZE ON INCORPORATING DATA AND ANALYTICS INTO MARKETING STRATEGIES

How are you employing the data received from your business’s marketing campaigns? Far too many companies fail to use this data, and when they do choose to utilize it, they do so inefficiently.

JP Clement, CEO of boomtime, recently joined Derek Gerber on the Press Play Podcast to discuss data’s role in successful marketing campaigns and how boomtime has capitalized on incorporating analytics into its strategies.

The Science of Marketing

When you think about marketing, what do you think of? Creativity is one of the most common answers to this question, and it should be! Marketing professionals constantly have to develop new, creative ways to grab their audience’s attention, engage with their following, and ultimately sell products and services.

What many don’t realize is that data, analytics, and science play an equally important role in an ideal marketing strategy.

“Marketing is not 100% creativity. It’s 50% science, and the other half is 50% what I like to call feng shui.” (9:35)

The numbers are constantly influencing the creative aspect of the job. They provide the feedback necessary to know whether or not a marketer’s creativity is effective.

Data Tells Stories

While data is often the driving force behind marketing efforts, the numbers themselves can fall flat when presented to a client. If an agency approaches a client check-in with the expectation of presenting data in the form of graphs, charts, and tables, the meeting will likely fall flat.

The truth is, numbers look dull when you aren’t working with them every day. Because of this, marketing professionals must learn to present the story that the numbers are telling. If the analytics say that a campaign was successful, what elements made it a success? Did the data show that a campaign fell short of expectations? What is the story behind those numbers?

“We tell stories because I don’t want to throw a bunch of charts and tables and numbers at our clients. They’re not going to look at it, and they’re not going to understand it.” (8:40)

Analytics Drive Lead Generation

One of the most common myths regarding B2B digital marketing is a lack of ROI. Why should my company spend money on a digital marketing campaign that doesn’t have a proven ROI? This is simply incorrect. Data proves when a campaign reaches its KPIs, and it shows the ROI.

Most commonly, the ROI for B2B digital marketing campaigns is seen in lead generation. A good campaign will utilize multiple platforms to network and put your brand in front of prospective clients.

“We use things like email marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, and so on, and we put these pieces together in a way that I believe is very creative. And this is how we get our clients over that hump to differentiate themselves.” (11:37)

Another common myth about digital marketing is that the ROI happens overnight. While some campaigns generate certain amounts of measurable success in a few weeks, many campaigns can take several months or even a year to realize their total value. When you generate quality content, it maintains relevancy and value for years to come.

“There will be some quick pops from or digital marketing efforts now, but some of those investments may hit us 9 or 12 months form now.” (19:11)

Whether it’s a video, article, podcast, or a different form of digital content, it can pay off years down the road. If a prospective client finds it at the right time, it might be the piece that pushes them over the edge into working with your brand.

How are you employing data and analytics in your marketing strategy?