How to increase the commercial value of digital analytics

The first web analytics systems were developed back in the mid-1990s to improve “internet marketing” as it was starting to be deployed – and in 1994 the first commercial web analytics vendor “I/PRO Corp” was launched.

However, in recent years it has been found that some companies are failing to utilise core web analytics best practices and are not getting the potential return from web analytics that they could.

Despite web analytics services being well established, it seems that web analytics technology is still not used as widely to positively impact marketing as might be expected.

It may come as a surprise to many agencies and in-house marketing teams alike that analytics doesn’t seem to be as widely used as once thought, however, this article aims to educate everyone on the commercial value of analytics

Commercial benefits of analytics

In the contemporary marketing landscape, the importance of precise data cannot be emphasised enough. Modern consumers have become highly selective in their choices of branded content, actively filtering out irrelevant media.

To engage the perfect audience, brands must place significant reliance on precise data. This enables them to create personalised advertisements that cater to individual interests, rather than relying on broad demographic assumptions. By adopting this approach, marketing teams can effectively deliver the most pertinent advertisements at the right time and place, effectively guiding consumers through their purchasing journey.

Here are some of the advantages of incorporating marketing analytics into your strategies:

Understanding consumer behaviour

Marketing analytics empowers you to monitor and understand consumer behaviour, enabling you to make informed plans for the future. Every customer undergoes a distinct journey before arriving at a purchase decision. Through the use of marketing analytics, enterprises can acquire invaluable insights into how customers engage with their brand across multiple touchpoints, including social media and search. These insights enable marketers to deliver customised content and tailored experiences at each phase of the customer journey, ultimately fuelling expansion and nurturing enduring customer loyalty.

Making informed decisions

Informed decisions require a foundation of reliable information. In the realm of marketing, where numerous variables are at play, discerning what works necessitates a basis for comparison. Marketing Analytics provides the essential data that empowers you to make more informed choices regarding your marketing strategy. Without it, decisions would rely solely on intuition or personal preference, which may not always serve as robust foundations for effective decision-making.

Integrating marketing data for comprehensive analysis

Marketing teams frequently execute campaigns across diverse platforms and teams, which can pose a challenge when it comes to data collection. Marketing analytics plays a pivotal role in streamlining this process by consolidating all marketing data into a central hub for comprehensive analysis. This integration of marketing data equips businesses with the capability to make informed, data-driven decisions and efficiently fine-tune their marketing strategies for optimal results.

Increasing brand awareness

In a contemporary and fiercely competitive market, establishing brand awareness is pivotal for drawing in customers. Marketing analytics empowers businesses to scrutinise critical metrics across social platforms and gauge their brand’s awareness relative to competitors.
By dissecting search volumes, website traffic, and social media sentiment, marketers can craft strategies to enhance brand recognition and secure a competitive advantage. With the aid of marketing analytics, businesses can monitor their brand’s performance and make well-informed decisions, thus elevating brand visibility and enhancing customer perception.

How to increase the value of analytics

Here are some guidelines to ensure that your investment in analytics yields valuable insights that drive meaningful impact, rather than merely generating inconsequential reports that just look good.

• Align analytics with business goals

Data analytics need to solve real business problems.

Data has the power to be a catalyst for connecting different teams around common goals.

In the absence of a well-defined data strategy, achieving precise insights may become challenging, leading to potential delays and increased expenses when accessing essential data for business users. The presence of redundant applications and the proliferation of individuals accessing and storing duplicate data can inflate operational costs.

• Establish data pipelines with business values in mind

A marketing data pipeline is the process or system by which your marketing data moves from its sources to a central destination (CRM); and a carefully managed data pipeline can provide you with seamless access to reliable and well-structured datasets.

• Improve data accuracy

Data originates from a variety of sources, including internal sales and inventory records, external sources relating to marketing-related data (think social media metrics), customer-specific data acquired through surveys or self-reported information.

Final thoughts

In today’s data-centric landscape, precision holds utmost importance when it comes to making informed decisions and achieving organisational success.

To enhance the uptake of web analytics within organisations, it is crucial to reframe it as a process for enhancement, for instance, under the banner of ‘digital marketing optimisation’ or the more focused ‘Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).’

The obstacles posed by technology and data integration, which once served as significant barriers preventing companies from enhancing website conversion rates, are gradually diminishing in significance.