As digital marketing advances and we have more and more information at our disposal, we have greater opportunity to make marketing more effective. The information we receive at every data point is a chance to adjust levers to achieve ideal levels of relevance- right person, right message, right time, right device.
To get there, we have to not only collect that data, but also analyze it and actually act upon those “actionable insights.” Because data is derived from a variety of sources, it is important to understand it from both the user level—who your customer is and what their interests, needs, dislikes, etc. are—and the action level—what sites they visit, what searches they conduct, how long they spend on which pages, what they purchase. Combining these insights offer a more complete picture of your customer and enable you to take the appropriate actions to engage them.
For example, skincare brand Proactiv analyzed data across both personal and interest levels and found that many Proactiv users and prospects also were country music fans. This led the brand to begin featuring country music artists like Carrie Underwood in their ads, which led to better response rates.
In Cashing in on Customer Insights by Peppers & Rogers and IBM, IBM’s Deepak Advani notes, “Business leaders can leverage these insights to help them develop relevant offers and to design more customized channel experiences for high-value customers. For instance, understanding how most valuable or most growable customers use a company’s website and why they behave the way in which they do (e.g., pages visited, why they leave) during these interactions can help decision-makers to determine the types of functionality and capabilities that could further improve customer experiences. Such efforts can help companies to engage these customers more effectively and increase their loyalty and lifetime value.”
In other words, if you take the time to observe your customers , and truly analyze their behaviors, they will tell you everything you need to know about how to engage them. Growths in sales from a new demographic means that you should be looking at ways to further engage that audience. Unusually low response to your latest campaign by your target audience may mean you need to test new messaging. It’s a simple philosophy, but it does require the right tools and the right partners. But with the right technology and good clean data, marketers can create – and act upon – a virtual roadmap to their most effective marketing.
To learn more about the MediaMath solution, click here.