So you’ve come up with an incredible marketing campaign. You love it, your team loves it, everyone’s feeling good. But will your customers love it? If you’re not using customer data to make informed marketing decisions, you really won’t know until after deployment. And at that point, any feedback you get will be too little too late.
What is Data-Driven Marketing?
Data-driven marketing is the practice of analyzing customer data to form actionable insights. Simple as that. Data is your marketing crystal ball. It’s the best way to know that your campaign plans are going to pay out because you’ll be delivering the most relevant messaging to the right people.
I’m sure you’re scratching your head right now wondering why anyone wouldn’t want to make data informed marketing decisions. But guess what? An astounding 87% of marketers consider data their organization’s most underutilized asset.
Maybe you’re on the fence about data-driven marketing or aren’t sure how or if it could work for your business. Here are our biggest endorsements for the use of data when constructing any marketing strategy…
4 Reasons to Use Data-Driven Marketing
1. Data-driven marketing lets you know who you’re working with.
Like really know. If you’re currently collecting any data on your customers, you have within your hands the capability to form a clearer picture of specifically who those customers are and what motivates them. Data is your roadmap to delivering the most relevant, engaging communication.
Taking into account factors like age, gender, location, shopping patterns and history, as well as a host of other data points, marketing campaigns can be targeted and personalized to speak directly to every single consumer. That’s pretty powerful stuff. In fact, 86% of buyers say personalization plays a role in their purchasing decisions. Perhaps that’s why 90% of marketers see personalization as the future of marketing.
Through simply showing your customers that you recognize their preferences and profile, you’re opening the door for a deeper brand connection, loyalty and increased revenue.
2. Deliver the seamless and relevant experience your customers are looking for.
Think about one of the best shopping experiences you’ve ever had. Are you picturing a time when you struggled to find what you were looking for, weren’t made aware of special offers and felt frustrated and turned off by the brand? No, I didn’t think so. I bet you’re remembering an experience that was quick, easy and maybe even saved you a few bucks.
I’m pleased to report that you’re in the majority. 73% of consumers prefer to do business with brands who leverage personal data to make their shopping experience more relevant. In case you’re wondering, a relevant experience is one that’s intuitive – that means product suggestions and savings opportunities are data-based, and as the data changes, the experience changes. That’s the real power behind data-driven marketing. It evolves and adapts in real-time to mirror consumer behavior, maximizing all consumers’ experience with a particular brand.
3. Data-driven marketing enables cross-channel personalization.
Frequently customers add products to their online carts and never complete the sale. Maybe the item was forgotten, maybe the shopper didn’t quite like it enough to seal the deal. Cross-channel personalization, for example, sees an abandoned cart as an opportunity to touch base with a consumer on another channel – usually email, in this instance – to send a reminder and sometimes even a discount to come back and shop.
52% of consumers report increased purchasing when cross-channel personalization is used. Consider that the top three motivators that bring someone to purchase are discounts (75%), free shipping (74%) and being shown the right product (68%). Using consumer data and some savvy cross-channel marketing efforts, you have the opportunity to hit all of these points when encouraging someone to make a purchase.
4. Personalization is not only preferred, it is expected.
You expect your friends to know your name and some of your favorite things. We’ve now entered a marketing era where people also expect the brands they shop with to know a bit about them. 70% of consumers expect personalization on the websites they shop with, and 68% expect personalization in emails from those same websites.
It speaks again to the need for data leverage across channels. Consistent, personalized and targeted brand communication earns the trust and loyalty of buyers.
Ultimately, leveraging data tells your customers that you know who they are and that you “get” them. By delivering a tailor-made brand experience, you’re creating a buying atmosphere that feels familiar and intuitive.
If you found this useful and you’d like to learn how to take advantage of the latest trends in a fast-paced and ever-evolving marketing landscape, we invite you to download a copy of our “How to stay ahead of the game in the marketing industry” guide for CMOs.
To learn more about what Personalized Video can do for your business, click below.
