When You’re Drow in Marketing Data. 5 Things To Do.
My marketing career began in the mid-90s. Just as the internet was becoming a thing. Websites were all built in code and there were no really good analytics tools for website stuff, search engines were barely around. Banner ads and directories were kinda the only go-to marketing thing to et analytics. The early 00’s saw that change and when social media came along, woah! Now, marketers are drawing in data.
And the response of most has been to go and get more data. Buying SaaS tools and analytics packages to toss more data into the data lakes that are already overflowing. Data sets that are increasingly messy. Hoping more analysts to try and create new dashboards. And oh the dashboards! We do love our marketing dashboards!
So what do marketing departments do when they’re drowning in data? Do not add more data before you take a lot of data way. Like seriously, cut a ton of it out. Take a really hard look at your dashboards and trim away.
How To Reset Your Marketing Analytics
These are some things I’ve helped marketing teams do to get out of drowning in marketing data. For them, it’s this massive sigh of relief and relaxing of shoulders. Cathartic even.
Who & What is the Data For: For CMOs and heads of marketing departments, the most important data for you is what you will present to the CEO and CFO. They want to know where marketing contributed to the bottom line. Talking about campaign engagement numbers doesn’t quite get them as excited as the marketing team,
Hard Cutting: Step back, go up about 40,000 feet and step outside your marketing analytics brain. Look at the dashboards you have as critically as you can. Maybe bring someone in from the outside, even another department. You can probably cut 30% or more of you analytics and cut out 50% of more of your dashboards.
What’s Tangible and Intangible? Intangible assets are likes, clicks, engagements, shares etc. Tangible are conversions, CLC, CLV, revenue share and unit share with heavy usage value; those are profit contribution measures. Intangible metrics are brand value. CEOs and CFOs can’t generally wrap their head around brand value.
Code for Culture: This is more qualitative but highly relevant. Analyse your audiences rituals, behaviours and unwritten rules. Add these to your personas, creative briefs and ICP. This gives you a much better view of your target audience.
There are more, but those are my top ones. Remember that data tells you what, it can never tell you why. Surveys are helpful, but they only go so far. Especially in a world exhausted by surveys. Mix some qualitative in with your hard data. You’ll get a more robust view of your actual audience and insights into why they do what they do.
Most analytics companies need you to slice and dice data with their tool. Their interest is getting you to use more data because that keeps you as a customer. Performance marketing tools are good, they work. But only at the individual level for granularity. Marketing has become highly focused on the individual and needs to include the broader audience and the culture within which you play. Accept some degree of being uncomfortable. You can still get the right insights for the CEO and CFO without adding more data.
