Marketing is something that every entrepreneur has to spend time thinking about, and there are no end-of-marketing solutions out there for you.
But one element of marketing that often gets overlooked is marketing data – the analytics and feedback that let you know whether or not your marketing campaign is really working. And that’s a shame, because a careful look at your marketing data can be very revealing.
It can let you know just what you need to stop doing, what you need to make adjustments to, and what you need to keep doing to continue drawing in customers.
Take a look as you read on at how collecting marketing data can propel your business forward….
Target Your Audience More Effectively
Marketing data can be used to segment your customers into easily identifiable groups so that you can more effectively target the audience that you want to appeal to.
Take digital ads, for example.
You’ll be able to tell which websites your customers were visiting when they clicked on your ads, as well as which websites didn’t garner as many clicks for your ads.
You’ll also be able to tell something about your customers by the type of websites they visit.
This data can reveal hobbies and interests that can help you tailor your message to the exact type of people who are most likely to want and need your services.
You can also design and service changes to tailor the products themselves to appeal more to your target audience.
Create New Products and Services
Some data can be used to reveal what the next products that you will want to offer should be.
For example, some products now contain sensors imbedded in their products that record data showing what sort of uses cause the equipment to fail or when the equipment begins to break down.
This kind of information can be used to develop better products that more effectively meet the needs of your customers.
It can also be used to create better maintenance plans, warranties, replacement guarantees, and repair options.
You’ll gain more customers simply by offering the products and services that they’re most likely to need, based on the available data.
Make Changes in Real Time
The article “Expert Interview Series: Jonathan Stefansky on Collecting Marketing Data” does a good job of explaining how data can be collected from digital and interactive video and used to further your business.
You may not realize that video ads consistently outperform display ads, with higher click through rates and more engagement from customers.
Data can be collected from these video ads in real time.
That means that you will be able to look at the data, which could include everything from impressions and clicks to device types and the geography of the consumers clicking the ads, as soon as that data is collected.
This allows you to make necessary changes right away. You don’t have to wait for an ad campaign to run a set course before you can make adjustments.
Your customers will be impressed by the immediate response you’ll be able to offer through data analytics.
Don’t let the opportunity to improve your business with relevant marketing data pass you by.
When you devise ad campaigns, make sure that you have a plan for observing, analyzing, and responding to marketing data.
About the Author: Cheryl Baer is a freelance writer who writes about marketing and business.
