Making Better Decisions with Data-Driven Marketing

The marketing world is transforming. It’s all about how marketers are using data. This change is reflected in their budgets, with an estimated 60% increase in spending on data analytics expected during the coming year. Why the big shift? Simple. When data-driven marketing decisions are made, results follow.

To start, let’s define the term “data-driven marketing.” According to Financial Times, data-driven marketing is “marketing insights and decisions that arise from the analysis of data about or from consumers.” Businesses can now see a more complete picture of their customers’ needs and preferences. Then marketers can make decisions based on that data — eliminating assumptions or guesswork.

Let’s talk business intelligence data. Many decision-makers are relying on business intelligence data when building engaging customer experiences. Gartner says that business intelligence “includes the applications, infrastructure and tools, and best practices that enable access to and analysis of information to improve and optimise decisions and performance.”

What does this mean for marketers? In a study conducted by Domo on the state of data-driven marketing, one-third of marketers reported they check their business intelligence solutions daily, making them the most frequently checked data source.

The right technology can help businesses optimise a data-driven online marketing strategy without putting stress on budgets. Here’s what to look for when considering a data-driven marketing platform:

• It should be integration-friendly.
  Marketers need a solution that can be integrated with sales and customer service solutions. This helps them collect data from any touchpoint with their brand, as well as create a seamless experience for customers.

• It should be feature-rich.
  The most valuable data-driven platforms offer a core set of vital features — channel optimisation, marketing campaign creation, reporting tools, automation capability, and predictive analytics integration — to help build customer journeys.

• It should have built-in analytics.
  Approximately half of all businesses are failing to implement any form of big-data solutions. Data analytics doesn’t have to be too complex to understand. Digital marketing platforms that offer automated, built-in analytics can capture, analyse, and implement data on their own — sharing valuable insights through enhanced digital visualisation.

• It should be able to adapt as marketing strategies change.
  Customers grow. Trends shift. Strategies adapt — and marketing platform technology should too. It must be flexible with data collection and analysis, the design of marketing products, preferred channels, reporting, and integration with other areas of business  — such as customer service and sales.

• It should prove ROI.
  The money spent on a digital marketing platform shouldn’t be a loss. Top marketers do their research before they buy — and they understand exactly what they’re getting. Free trial demos and user reviews often provide an accurate idea of what to expect in terms of capabilities. This helps when trying to justify a price tag.

Measure results with the following digital marketing platform capabilities:

• Tracking
  Marketers can measure customer engagement within individual campaigns by tracking customer behaviour.

• Targeting
  Marketers can target precise segments based on customer behaviour, attributes, and purchase history.

• Forecasting
  With the predictive analytics capabilities of data-driven marketing platforms, marketers can anticipate customer needs and deliver relevant messages.

Marketing Cloud checks all the boxes on a marketer’s wish list for a data-driven marketing strategy platform.

Salesforce’s cloud-based solutions help create a seamless experience for customers by natively integrating marketing with sales, service, analytics, app building, ecommerce, communities, and products. Teams including sales reps, service agents, human resources associates, and IT can collaborate more effectively, share customer data, and streamline processes.

Marketing Cloud has innovative marketing automation, creative tools, and analytics features to build more effective campaigns. The reporting tools are intuitive and eliminate the frustration that 62% of marketers experience due to the time it takes to create reports on marketing data.

Today’s most innovative brands trust their data-driven marketing strategy with Marketing Cloud for its robust data-management capabilities, security, and uptime. Marketers can analyse data in real time, customise reporting, and use flexible formatting on display options to present data.

Marketers can pull data from any source, build campaigns on any channel, assess key metrics, and optimise their data-driven marketing strategy as their customers — and trends — evolve.

Marketers can track customer behaviours and the progress of marketing campaigns. Real-time reporting makes data analysis, sharing information with stakeholders, and campaign optimisation easier.

Use data to target the right audience based on customer attributes and behaviours. Send the right message to the right people at the right moment.