As foolproof as one would like to build the organization’s growth plan– the fact remains that often there are areas which are either unintentionally neglected or under-analysed, resulting in a negative effect on the corporate growth trajectory. Marketing analytics is the perfect tool in these situations, providing in-depth insights on what actually is working for the business, and the areas which can be improvised upon.
The typical scenario in most organizations is that decision makers prefer allocating resources on the basis of which products/ strategies fared well in the past quarters. The rewards, thus, go to the departments which made a lot of noise instead of those which perhaps need more attention for growth. What in fact is needed is that the allocations be made based on the economic value, strategic return, and payback window, of a particular product or service. Thus, a 360-degree analysis based on the right inputs and insights is essential for the success of any business growth plan.
Secure your business strategy with marketing analytics
Regardless of which industry you are dealing with, the most apt approach to building a growth plan is to use a clear and consistent lens of comparison to build a practical business strategy. For instance, a furniture company got to know that its target consumer base is more active on the retailer website, than the company’s parent website. This led to a major diversion of their marketing budget on the retailer site – resulting in more than 20% increase in their overall sales.
Marketing analytics improves the business decisions by validating as well as challenging various approaches which are adopted to improve the performance of marketing campaigns. A thorough market analysis, is therefore, imperative to bringing your business back on the profitable growth trajectory.
Three proven ways in which marketing data analysis can boost your business:
#1 Zero-in on the best analytical approach
This is one area wherein most organizations fail. The analytical approach adopted should be decided based on your area of enterprise. Analytics like marketing-mix modeling (MMM) links marketing investments to sales as well as external variables to discover the longitudinal as well as interaction effects. While the longitudinal effect covers the changes in individuals and segments over a period, interaction effects deals with uncovering the differences between the offline/ online social media activities. MMM is a data analytics tool which can be employed for long-term as well as short-term planning.
Other analytical approaches like the RCQ (Reach, Cost, Quality) is effective when the data available is rather limited and the rate of spending on marketing activities is consequently limited too. By bringing in all the major touch points on the same plane of measurement, RCQ helps overcome the differences amid all the available channels.
#2 Generate better insights through integration of data
Rather than depending on a single analytical tool, marketing analytics provides businesses with greater insights by pulling in data from various sources. This way the bias inherent in an analytical tool is easily overcome, and businesses can easily divert budget on activities which are sure to bring in more profits and visibility to their brand. A balanced view is what one gets from integration of data through various resources– organizations also benefit as they can track performance of their marketing programs on a near-real-time basis and adopt corrective measures as and when needed.
#3 Make analytical approach the foundation of all strategies
Lastly, marketing analytics has the potential to change the very foundation on which various marketing and sales strategies are built. By bringing analytical approach into the heart of your organizational activities, you build an environment which is more rational, pragmatic, and at the same time quite flexible.
Market research reports from Technavio analyze all the latest trends in the data analytics market and present a balanced view for stakeholders to make the right business decisions.
