With a rational advertising method like inbound marketing, ‘more or less’ lies in the ability to analyze data. If we only stop at half-hearted analysis, and do not extract to the end the meaning behind the numbers, the conclusions are even scarier than emotional decisions.
A brand’s capacity to reflect on and capitalize on data is a sufficient requirement for “getting ahead” of the competition in today’s age of data-driven marketing. Inbound marketing, which relies heavily on the detection of behavioral patterns in order to implement automated processes, highlights the need for marketers with strong quantitative skills.
Let’s skip over the technical details that have been discussed at length in other articles and instead learn from Weapon Agency the two primary functions of data analysis in marketing strategies in general and inbound marketing in particular. Discuss in the section below!
- Explain the ‘principle’ of success and scope out where opportunities hide
Reasons can be wrong, but numbers never lie as long as you have ‘digged’ to the bottom of the hidden meanings. By actual numbers, not only can effective strategies be identified, businesses can also look deeper into the nature of the problem:
- What are the correct assumptions that can continue to be the foundation for the next campaigns – such as stereotypes about typical customer portraits , interactive behavior, decision-making paths… After all , you can’t start every campaign from scratch, the more you build a solid ‘thought foundation’, the closer the KPIs are to reality.
- What are the misconceptions that, if changed, could ‘save the whole campaign – for example, barriers to decision, approach or services trying to sell. Think about it, what happens when they are only interested in the cheapest service package but you want to ‘force’ them to choose greater values? Of course this is possible after a long approach. But in the short term, in order not to lose customers to competitors, it will be more optimal to put the ‘spike’ of content on what they do.
Therefore, you shouldn’t limit your inbound marketing research to only the content that yields the best results; instead, you should look into the why and how, ideally with statistics to back up your claims. Unfortunately, many marketers stop at Step 1 and strive to direct all visitors to the best landing page possible. This technique is the appropriate mentality, but it may hamper future replication efforts.
There is no guarantee that a successful campaign will be successful in the future, and the same goes for unsuccessful ones. Since both life and human requirements are ever-evolving, what is appropriate now may be inappropriate tomorrow, and vice versa. Market shifts have a wide-ranging impact, particularly in the present moment, on a wide variety of economic sectors. Businesses may get a glimpse into the ‘new reality’ and start making adjustments now by analyzing data patterns, even if the shift in behavior will not ‘change’ instantaneously.
- Data analysis is the foundation for setting up automated processes
Inbound marketing is the best practice when running a business since it relies on automation. So that organizations don’t lose chances while “hiding in the shadows,” features like lead scoring may be included to automatically assess the likelihood of completing the transaction for each item. To implement this “unique” procedure, a marketer must have exceptional data analysis skills.
In the article ” 5 steps in building a lead scoring system to help optimize consulting and conversion performance “, Weapon Agency explains this function as a ‘score calculator’ – adding points for each behavior to help increase the ability to convert; deduct points for behaviors that imply they are not potential subjects. Such as:
- Go to the website and see the full price page → earn points
- Don’t open the email in 3 months → deduct points
However, the issue of just how much more is best addressed by hard numbers. Businesses will develop a scoring method, adding or deleting points necessary for each customer behavior, based on a breakdown of customers’ behavior based on the conversion of prior successes/failures into patterns to determine percentages. To what extent should one ‘pick up the phone; which names on the list should be eliminated by how many points…
In addition, when digging deeper into behavioral data, the initial assumptions about the scoring mechanism are also less ‘obvious’ and more insightful. Everyone knows that if they don’t open an email for more than 3 months, the chances of closing a deal will be low, but even if they have thoroughly ‘gobbled’ the content of the article, they are not necessarily a potential customer – think about the data. Whether it’s demographics for example, sometimes this also helps businesses ‘squeeze’ out people who visit their website for other purposes – for example, for learning or downloading documents!
A final word on the role of data analytics in inbound marketing
“Playing data” in inbound marketing is a process that says difficult – not difficult, says easy – not easy. More than just analysis, marketers also need:
- Connect data from multiple channels and sources to get a big picture overview. When the data is fragmented or not large enough, the broken link will be difficult to create temporary positive change.
- Able to process data. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to data analysis lies in the ability to extract important metrics after integrating all the information in one place. Often the marketer is not knowledgeable about this and the technical team is ‘blind’ about marketing. Therefore, the combination of veteran digital marketers and technical teams is also one of the important factors when implementing inbound marketing campaigns.
- Even having applied CRM systems to data management, customizations to suit industry needs still make it difficult for many businesses when system providers often only ‘failure support’ through 1- 2 online training sessions.
Only when the ‘data foundation’ is solid from the ground up, will the proposed analysis and strategies ‘bloom and blossom’. But to do this requires close coordination from experts in marketing, data management systems and IT. Sometimes, businesses can raise ‘army’ in the house if the business requires it (e.g. e-commerce sites). Sometimes businesses will need consulting support from digital agencies that favor digital systems like Weapon Agency.
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