Marketing in the Data-Driven Age

We live in a data-driven age. This is a time decidedly influenced by social media, blog posts, and the like. Walk down any busy street or step into any restaurant, and you will see people staring at their phones, scrolling and scrolling for content.

Information is instantly available at one’s fingertips on any and every single topic under the sun. In order to compete and be authentic in this space, marketers must be able to work within a real-time framework. This means collecting consumer data to inform and redefine the marketing strategy in order to consistently offer relevant content to the right customer segment at the right time. All that said, data alone is not the smart marketer’s end-game.

Data Is Not the End-Game

Simply gathering and organizing information is not the endgame; it’s only the beginning! In order to be successful, brands must deliver content that is meaningful and personalized across their customer segments.

As one CMO stated. “Big data really isn’t the end unto itself. It’s actually big insights from big data. It’s throwing away 99.999% of that data to find things that are actionable.” (Bob Barchers, CMO For Dolby Laboratories)

What Bob and many other successful marketers have realized is that having data is not the same thing as having knowledge. Simply put having data without any context or insight is useless. To truly leverage the marketing technology and automation software available to us today, we must have the marketing mind to transform raw information into insight and insight into action.

Leveraging Marketing Data

Data has resolved many of the marketing challenges faced in the past and now allows us the ability to:

Track brand performance in real time & at a granular level
Gain detailed customer behavior insights and ability to segment and score based on interest
Increase conversion rates through analytical discoveries
Develop dynamic content based on individual’s behavior

Data is like gold in the hands of a marketer who understands that it is only as powerful as the content strategy it informs.

4 Tips Smart Data-Marketers Should Employ:

1. Create Dynamic Copy

Brands can ensure they make the greatest impact possible on consumers by creating content that is not only relevant but interesting and valuable.

2. Be Customer-Focused

Let the data and technology inform the needs and wants of the customer. A well constructed behavior marketing strategy will help to establish a clear roadmap towards client focused content.

3. Convert Data into Insight, and Insight into Action

Make effective use of marketing automation by acting on insights in real time. Use the rules and triggers in automation software to automate client centered and targeted content. Send the right message at the right time.

4. Don’t Abandon the Fundamentals

Today’s most successful marketers are those that are able to combine creative, technology, analytical data and strategy. In other words, technology does not replace a strong marketing strategy, rather it should be used as a tool or tactic in the marketer’s arsenal. Proper analysis will inform the marketer if the campaign is effective or needs to be reconsidered.

The Big Picture, Software + Strategy = Results

Brands may get a false sense that simply having software that automates their marketing efforts will equate to greater customer conversions and their overall bottom line. In truth, automation software is only as powerful as the content strategy that is driving it. We strongly believe that content-rich marketing is and will remain supreme – after all, we are living in a time where the right information can mean the difference between a viral response or a lackluster scroll by.

At Heritage Marketing Group, we take a holistic approach to marketing by marrying winning creative and proven strategy with new and emerging technologies – we then test, evaluate and adjust campaigns as necessary based on the insights we gather from analytics. It’s not rocket science; it’s really just taking foundational marketing strategies and finding the right tools to make them as effective as possible. Want to learn more? Give us a call!