Data-driven marketing may be the solution for all the times your business lost money on mass marketing. Mass marketing doesn’t factor in the constant changes that happen within the marketing space, it does not factor in varying target markets and quite frankly, it is also quite expensive! “Data-driven marketing, on the other hand, is measurable” says Kenneth Sun, Co-founder at Flint Studio, and it’s true.
Data-driven marketing is normally confused with real-time marketing. Also known as on-the-fly marketing, this type of marketing requires a stroke of masterful quick-thinking. A brand takes advantage of a trending or major topic and then creates an ad aligned with their brand story or message in reaction to it. This exploits customer interaction and therefore increases the reach.
The reason data-driven marketing and real-time marketing are confused is that they can be interlinked. Brands who adapt data-driven marketing know their target audience and are (or should) be constantly collecting data to add to what they already know, therefore already have a strategy built. Real-time marketing then reacts based on the data derived.
In this post we’re going to look at how data-driven marketing can be implemented into your existing marketing strategy and how we help businesses charm the right audience. In order to do this, we need to look at why you should consider it for your business.
Table of Contents
What Does Data-driven Marketing Change?
Data-driven marketing forces you to put the target market first, giving you a clear idea of who they are and what appeals to them. This ultimately makes planning and execution easier and your marketing directives can be optimised to resonate with your target market. With data-driven marketing, you can effectively build brand awareness, increase conversions and improve engagement. Below we have created a list of data-driven marketing tactics and tools that can help your strategy.
Data-Driven Marketing Tactics and Tools
There are plenty of tools that you can use to get the most out of our data. Google has a variety of data-driven marketing tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Optimize, Data Studio and more. These tools perform certain varying functions that contribute to the bigger picture.
A/B Testing and Conversion Rate Optimisation
A/B Testing removes doubt from marketing decisions. It provides feedback on what works and what doesn’t, based on what appeals to your audience. There are various ways A/B Testing is carried out depending on the kind of results you are looking for:
Split Testing – two versions of a page are tested and once a there is a difference in interaction, a version with the desired results is then picked
Multivariate Testing – This is when you want to test more than one element of a page like a header, design, banner as well as copy, for an example
Bandit Testing – This type of testing automatically takes the audience to the winning variation
Multi-page Testing – Also known as A/B/C/D/E testing, this is when you want to test more multiple versions of a page
Tool options: Unbounce, Google Optimize, Optimizely
Retargeting Audiences, Programmatic and Personalised Advertising
Technology allows us, as marketers, to be data-driven in our targeting. But when you’re dealing with a lot of information, how do you then use it to best potential? Here are some of the ways we use data to target the right audience.
Retargeting Audiences (also know as remarketing): This is when a potential customer visits your page but then leaves without taking any action or completes a specific action. The next time they browse, your ad appears, inviting them back to the website.
Programmatic advertising is a when you target the type of audience you want, combining this with data, machine learning, and automation. Your audience is targeted based on social standing, gender, age, area or other criteria. With the right data, you can show the most relevant ads to the right audience at the most suitable time and place.
Personalised advertising is when you target your ads to a specific customer based on data created from their interaction with your page or their behaviour or interest data. Personalised ads can be created with the use of customer search, profile, and personal data.
Platforms: Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords and Doubleclick), Facebook, LinkedIn and other Native Advertising Platforms
Email Marketing & Behavioural Email Triggers
With the permission of the customer by various means, email marketing can work wonders. It is a great tactic for sustaining or educating potential customers about your products or services. One example of achieving this is a drip series of emails. Here is a list of some Behavioural Email Triggers,
When customers add items to their shopping cart but do not complete the purchase, an email can be sent to remind them to complete their purchase
If a customer signs up or registers, a welcome email may be sent to help them complete the process
When a customer provides their details to receive something in return like an ebook or link to a course
Platforms: Everlytic, MailChimp
Heat Maps, Scroll Maps and User Experience
Heat maps use colour to represent what data on the page works. It will indicate what parts of the page the visitors interacted with by tracking clicks. Scroll maps, on the other hand, help with identifying the best page length based on which point the visitor leaves the page. Both help improve the user experience by allowing us to see how users view and interact with a page. We can use this data and make adjustments to what works for, well, the user.
Platforms: HotJar, CrazyEgg, Clicktale, Ptengine
Conclusion
Using data-driven marketing can be powerful but can also be overwhelming at the same time. There are so many tactics out there which can lead to a spaghetti approach; throw a bowl of spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks! One critical challenge with this approach is if you don’t set up your tracking properly, you cannot find out what actually worked. Effective planning is pivotal in effectively executing any strategy and tactics and understanding the outcomes can help you leverage off of the insights gathered.
