Data-Driven Marketing

Data-driven marketing is an aspect of online marketing based on the analysis of customer data. The findings from these analyses are used to improve sales and increase brand awareness and reach. This includes demographic data as well as behavioral information, for example buying behavior. The data sets used include demographic data as well as user data, which, for example, record the behaviour of customers on websites. Data-driven marketing cannot be compared with Programmatic Marketing, which is based on the fully automatic purchase of advertising space. However, data-driven marketing tools can support this form of marketing.

General information

Data-driven marketing has emerged through the influence of various developments in sales, customer care, and Online Marketing. In the past, Customer Relationship Management, [ERP ERP systems and BI solutions were used as tools for decision-making at different levels. Employees and managers were able to access a large data base in order to optimize business processes and make informed decisions. The focus was on dealing with resources and improving the operating result.

Data-driven marketing goes a step further and refers to insights from large datasets that are relevant to the marketing and perception of the brand or the product. Customer data in the form of demographic, behavioral or voluntarily provided information such as questionnaires or online surveys help marketers improve campaigns and improve customer care in the long term. The size of the company does not play a major role here, as even small companies can already benefit from data-driven marketing with the appropriate tools.

Benefits and advantages of data driven marketing

The goal of data-driven marketing is to provide decision-makers with an up-to-date picture of customer behavior so that trends, changes in purchasing behavior or a changed perception of the brand can be quickly recognized. Ultimately, the method should result in higher sales figures, higher traffic or the improvement of other predefined KPIs. In an overarching sense, it is about a long-term customer relationship, understanding the customer and responding promptly to trends and markets in order to remain competitive.

For marketing based on data, it is essential to collect customer data based on which marketing strategies can be developed. The needs, wishes, and expectations of the customers can be anticipated in this way. The past and current behavior of customers may make it possible to predict future purchase behavior.

At the same time, it is intended to achieve a competitive advantage and significantly improve the efficience of campaigns with regard to their ROI Value. According to a survey by Adobe, data-driven campaigns should have three times the Conversion Rate compared to traditional campaigns without a data-based background.

How it works

Key elements of data-driven marketing:

• Big Data: Demographic and behavioral data; data from web analysis, social media or mobile phones; data from questionnaires, surveys or telephone interviews – all this information can be used to generate the largest database possible.
• Attribution: How do customers get a purchase? Which channels are used? Which customer segments are the most revenue-generating? Where can customers be picked up? The identification and analysis of important data is key to answering these and other questions.
• Multichannel Marketing: Social media, organic search, paid search, marketplaces, mobile or print media, customers use a variety of channels. Companies must therefore be omnipresent.
• Data Science: The more data is available, the more difficult it becomes to evaluate and make use of it. The task is to obtain usable results. Marketing decisions require reliable data.
• Presentation: Presentation depends directly on reliable data. Modern analysis tools offer numerous possibilities of visualization and thus also valuable insights, which can only be gained through visualization.
• Anonymous data: Anonymous, legal data offers many possibilities for evaluation. For example, the subdivision of the high-revenue customers into segments can be used to target new customers in this field.

Data-driven marketing: free tools

• Dasheroo: Dashboard that can be linked to multiple sources. Dasheroo
• Sumall: Dashboard for social media and e-commerce. Sumall
• Simplegraph: Tool for displaying selected metrics.
• Fullcontact: Tool to unify contact data. Fullcontact

In addition to this selection of tools, free web analytics tools such as Google Analytics can also be used for data-driven marketing. The data from Google Analytics can be used for targeting or remarketing with Google AdWords, for example. It is also possible, for example, to specifically advertise anonymous user IDs.

Relevance to online marketing

Against the background of the ever-increasing amount of data, the nature of the data is an important prerequisite for the success of Data-Driven Marketing. The more data, the more difficult the evaluation. For instance, Big Data uses a variety of sources. The data gets sorted according to different aspects in Data Warehouses.

The question is, which of this data is usable for sales and customer care? An important challenge in data-driven marketing is therefore the association of relevant data, so that insights can be gained which are useful to the marketing department. Successful data-driven marketing depends on smart data and appropriate tools.

In addition to the properties, procurement is a sensitive issue. Privacy and data protection must be guaranteed. Moreover, customers want a transparent, authentic dialogue when they provide their data. They also would like to be able to change the personal data stored about them. However, this is only possible in the rarest cases. Once collected, companies often treat such data as secrets. This results in distrust of the company.

Another problem is the rationalization of information. Customer data is turning into numbers and is increasingly not being associated to actual people. Companies that want to understand their customers must also perceive the people with all their facets behind such data. Data-driven marketing must not become an automatism that loses sight of the fact that the customer should be the focus of attention rather than profit maximization or simply the reduction of marketing expenses.Brands and products live through emotions which are an important identification feature for customers.

Web Links

• Definition of Data-Driven Marketing
• The Balancing Act Between Emotions and Data
• Data-Driven Marketing Infographic
• 37 Must-Have Tools for Data-driven Marketers