In today’s world, data rules. Company success is measured by numbers and calculations, and acronyms like ROI and KPI. In the world of marketing, the same is true. While the roots of marketing stem from creative execution, to excel in digital marketing you need to create a data-driven marketing plan. Here’s how.
Set up Tracking
The first step in using data to guide your marketing strategy is to make sure you’re collecting the data you will need. To start gathering data on your website you need to set up Google Analytics. The process is easy, and Google provides simple instructions to set up tracking codes. Once this is complete, start setting goals to help you track sales and marketing objectives specific to your business.
Pixels are another important set-up step in building a data-driven marketing plan. Each social media platform that offers ads should have a pixel. Install this pixel code onto your website to be able to easily follow the entire user journey from your ads to a sale.
Create Reports
Once you have data collection set up, gathering the important metrics is the next step. Depending on your marketing and business goals, you may want to log data changes weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Whichever cadence you choose, comparing data week-over-week or month-over-month is going to give you valuable insights into what is working and which areas of your marketing execution may need improvement. Additionally, creating quarterly or biannual reports can give you a high-level view of your efforts and provide valuable insight at an overall strategy level.
Listen to the Numbers
The most important aspect of following a data-driven marketing plan is to listen to the numbers you gather. You may have a campaign you really like, but if you’re not seeing data-driven results from it, it likely needs to be changed. With data-driven marketing, it is essential to be objective in your decision-making, and sometimes you may need to forego your personal opinions if the numbers don’t agree with your assessment.
Campaigns that leverage data-driven personalization report 5-8x ROI for their campaign spend over those who don’t.
Get a team on your side who knows how to turn data into leads and sales. KWSM is experienced in building data-driven marketing strategies and is ready to help your team succeed.
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