Data in Marketing - how it can be your most valuable asset or your costliest mistake if you ignore it

Data is the key to building connections not just with potential customers but with the RIGHT customers.

Today, with so many tools at our fingertips, data is now one of the most valuable assets to marketers and PR professionals. Try to devise a strategy without it? Waste. Of. Time. 

Data will help you gain better clarity about your target audience? Who are they? Where are they? Where do they get their news? Where do they shop? Data empowers us to be confident in our decisions which will, in turn, drive results. However, things can quickly go wrong if you don’t pay attention to the right data and you don’t use it in the right way.

NOT REACHING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

One of the golden rules of effective marketing is to reach the right audience, with the right messaging, at the right time in the right place. In other words you want to speak to the target market, in a way they understand, at the time they need it and using the right channels to reach them. It’s a lot, right? Well, yes, but listening to the data helps us understand this.   

If you don’t have proper data analyse (and crucially, use it) you run the risk of investing in campaigns that may not resonate with the right customer. This of course leads to poor results and a total waste of money. 

For example, imagine a meal prep company that targets adults in single occupancy households but fails to pay heed to their customer data. If they don’t realise their actual customer base is DINK households (Double Income, No Kids) then they may end up creating costly campaigns that are speaking to entirely the wrong demographic.

NOT CAPITALISING ON TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES

In 2023 trends change overnight - literally. What was considered ‘cool’ today might not be tomorrow. A celebrity at the top of their game today might find themselves cancelled tomorrow. 

Without looking at (and again, listening to) the data you run the risk of not seeing the emerging trends which can lead to missed opportunities. Shifts in market demands, changes in consumer behaviour or not seeing a fall in positive sentiment can out your brand at a complete disadvantage.

Influencers, for example, are one of the most divisive topics. Love them or loathe them they are undoubtedly a key consideration in marketing strategies today.  Brands that fail to see the value in influencer marketing run the risk of missing out on a powerful marketing tool. 

POOR CAMPAIGN OPTIMISATION 

POV: You launch a PR and Marketing campaign. It’s cost you a considerable amount of money, hundreds and hundreds of man hours and the odd sleepless night. But, it’s not done as well as you thought it would. It’s just not landed. 

This is where the data is CRUCIAL. With access to the right data you can look at the overall picture and make the necessary adjustments in real time to improve the campaign performance. 

It might be that the language you are using is just not resonating with the target audience or you’re not reaching them via the right channels? The data will empower you with the correct information to confidently make the tweaks necessary to ensure campaign success.

NOT MAXIMISING THE USE OF THE CUSTOMER DATA 

Your customer data is the golden key to understand their preferences and needs. If you fail to pay attention to their spending habits, their feedback, their purchase history you can risk delivery irrelevant communications and offers which can alienate your customers. 

Every communication with your customers needs to be right, it needs to serve a purpose. It needs to communicate the right messaging with the right customers. If an email marketing campaign sends irrelevant offers to subscribers then customers may become disengaged and unsubscribe which in turn can lead to a decline in customer retention. A costly mistake to make. 

In essence, data is not just a ‘nice to have’ it’s one of your most valuable assets. Ignoring the data you have at your fingertips can lead to costly mistakes; missed opportunities, dissatisfied, disengaged customers and poor results. 

Learn how data can help you to make data-driven decisions, how to source the right data and how to use these to build your strategies.