Being in the dark about the efficiency of your marketing strategy is not a good place to be. You put in all the work but don’t know whether or not the efforts are working. As a business owner in a competitive market, you must be able to track your successes and failures to make informed decisions that drive growth.
This is where analytics comes in. Marketing analytics is a powerful tool for businesses looking to grow and beat the competition. Little wonder 28% of marketers say marketing analytics data helps them effectively measure their marketing campaign performance.
By analyzing data from marketing campaigns, you can tweak your marketing strategies (or stick to them) to optimize your marketing efforts. Here, you will learn how this exercise can help grow your business.
What is marketing analytics
This practice involves using data to assess and analyze the efficiency of your marketing strategies and tactics. It helps you evaluate your marketing practices to gain insights and optimize your marketing processes.
Types of marketing analytics according to experts from market research firms
London market research firms, and indeed research firms globally, deploy three major types of marketing analytics: descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive. Here’s how they work and affect your business.
Descriptive analytics
This is the oldest of the three methods. It compares current and historical marketing data to draw a conclusion on possible differences in performance. For example, suppose posting social media content at a particular time used to generate 20,000 engagements, but now you barely get 1,000; in that case, descriptive analysis recognizes this drastic change and tries to figure out why this is the case.
This method makes you a more customer-centric brand by discovering why specific marketing strategies no longer impress your target audience. Moreover, it is easy to perform compared to the other types of marketing analysis. However, you need to know that it is less effective than the others and that its results are easily affected by fluctuations in your niche.
Predictive analytics
Here, we have a technique that uses past and present data to predict future outcomes. It is similar to weather forecasting, where current atmospheric conditions are processed using a complex but highly accurate algorithm to determine how they will develop in the future. Basically, predictive analytics is a model that uses past or current data from marketing campaigns to determine outcomes.
You can optimize your marketing efforts to achieve the desired results using predictive analytics results. This is especially useful for startups, as it helps predict the future of brands if they follow a specific path. However, you must be careful not to misinterpret the results, which is quite common with this type of marketing analysis. You also need to remember that there is a possibility of inaccurate predictions, especially if the algorithm has errors.
Prescriptive analytics
This analysis is more complex than the others, and you’re about to find out why. It is similar to predictive analysis because it calculates the future results of marketing strategies, but unlike predictive analytics, it also suggests how brands can optimize their marketing resources for the best results.
For example, if prescriptive research indicates that your business may experience a low checkout conversion rate in the next five months, it will also suggest how to avoid this. In other words, this type of analysis determines the results of your current marketing strategies and drafts a marketing solution to get the best results.
8 ways marketing analytics can drive business growth
Now that you know what this exercise is, it’s time to learn how it can boost growth in your business. The following are ways this time-tested exercise grows your business.
Identification of the most effective marketing channels
By analyzing data from different marketing channels, entrepreneurs can determine which channels are most effective at reaching and engaging their target audience. This allows them to focus on the channels and optimize their marketing efforts.
For example, the accessories and apparel industry makes up 58% of engagements (the highest) on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Using this data, business owners in the accessories and apparel niche can focus their marketing endeavors on these three marketing channels for more engagement and public exposure to their products.
Enhanced targeting and segmentation
This exercise can help businesses better understand their customer base, allowing them to create more effective targeting and segmentation strategies. This can lead to more personalized and relevant marketing efforts, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
For example, pharmaceutical companies use behavioral and demographic segmentation strategies to market their products for optimal efficiency. To achieve this, they must employ marketing analytics to identify the regions where their pharmaceutical items have the highest conversion rates and concentrate their marketing efforts there.
Better returns on marketing investments
Companies can determine the activities that provide the best return on investment by analyzing data on the cost and effectiveness of different marketing channels and tactics. This allows them to use their marketing budget more efficiently and ensure that their marketing efforts are as effective as possible.
Creation of more effective content
Marketing analytics provide valuable insights into the types of content that are most effective in engaging and persuading target audiences. By analyzing data on the performance of different kinds of content, companies can create more compelling content better aligned with the needs and interests of their target audience.
Optimization of lead generation and conversion
This activity helps enterprises determine which tactics are most effective at driving growth by analyzing data on the performance of different lead generation and conversion tactics.
For instance, many of the tips on how to use Instagram to increase sales, as well as other social media platforms, were collated from results of marketing analysis. In other words, marketing analytics allows entrepreneurs to optimize their lead generation and conversion efforts, resulting in higher sales and revenue.
Better customer loyalty and retention
By gaining valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, this marketing exercise helps entrepreneurs improve the customer experience, which in turn builds customer loyalty. Of course, there are many more ways to earn customer loyalty, but improving customer experience tops the pile.
With access to metrics such as customer interactions and feedback data, businesses can identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to retain and grow their customer base.
Product development and innovation
This activity provides valuable insights into customer needs and preferences, which can be used to drive product development and innovation. Businesses can identify market gaps by analyzing customer feedback and behavior data and develop new products and services that meet customer needs and drive growth.
Enhanced effectiveness of marketing campaigns
This marketing practice offers valuable insights into the performance of marketing campaigns, enabling organizations to identify areas for improvement and optimize their efforts. By analyzing data on the performance of different tactics and channels, companies can develop more effective marketing campaigns that are better aligned with the needs and interests of their target audience.
Examples of marketing analytics tools
Google analytics
It is arguably the most popular marketing analytics tool. This software, created by Google, can help internet business owners understand how their target market uses their websites. In addition, there is a free version that works well for most users.
Attest
With three layers of quality control, Attest blends human and artificial intelligence checks to give you consistently reliable data. This tool lets you target the consumers that matter and get the best out of your market research.
Whatagraph
In-house marketers and large marketing agencies can use Whatagraph to collect data relating to marketing campaigns. It supports over 30 direct API integrations, which enables users to compile and interpret data from various marketing channels.
Domo
Domo doesn’t just focus on marketing; it also reports on general business activity. It features a user-friendly user interface and data visualization. However, as it is more of a general-purpose data collection software, you must be aware that it has limitations when reporting marketing data.
Heap analytics
This adaptable web and mobile analytics program provides you with the majority of information regarding marketing outcomes on your website. It has a simple but comprehensive dashboard where you can keep tabs on your marketing initiatives. You can test the free version to determine if it meets your needs.
SEMrush
SEMrush is great for social media marketing and other marketing channels. It offers insights into your marketing efforts and those of your competitors and could even suggest tips on how to edge the competition.
KlipFolio
KlipFolio is a good tool because of its fantastic user interface and because it draws marketing data from Google Analytics and Facebook, some of the best sources available. It has a wide range of pricing options, but you can access some of its features through the free version.
Crowdbooster
This is one of the best analytics tools for social media marketing. One of the best things about this software is that it enables users to monitor social media interactions and activities in real time.
Start growing your business with marketing analytics
Investing in marketing campaigns without knowing how effective they are or how you can’t improve on them is the wrong marketing approach. The right approach is to employ marketing analytics to boost your marketing strategies. Done right, this practice refines your marketing processes and grows your business. A good place to start is to go through the pros and cons of the different tools available and choose one that’s most suitable for your business.
Moyofade Ipadeola is a Content Strategist, UX Writer and Editor. Witty, she loves personal development and helping people grow. Mo, as she’s fondly called, is fascinated by all things tech.
Comments