Data-driven marketing enables those responsible to make better decisions - because they can rely on facts and no longer have to trust their gut feeling. In practice, however, there are often only rudimentary solutions that do not fully exploit the possibilities of data-driven marketing and therefore leave many opportunities untapped. Digital business expert Arithnea explains seven best practices that companies can use to tap into the full potential of data-driven marketing.1. ensure a comprehensive databaseOnly those with sufficient data can get to know their customers precisely and approach them with tailored offers. This is why companies should not only use their own data sources such as CRM or website tracking systems, but also purchase data and user profiles, for example from predictive behavioral targeting providers, and use data from partner companies.2. evaluate social media channelsSocial media must not be forgotten when collecting data, as they provide particularly valuable insights. On platforms such as Facebook, people generally express freely what they really think about a company, its products and its services. With the help of suitable social media monitoring tools, this information can be collected automatically.3. include offline channelsIt is no less important to track customers' activities in offline channels as well as possible. In physical stores, for example, GPS tracking or beacons can be used to track which products a customer touches, takes from the shelf or buys. The use of click-and-collect offers can and should of course also be taken into account.4. integrate dataEven the most comprehensive data is only worth half as much if it is stored in separate islands. An accurate and reliable overall picture can only be created when all of these data sources are brought together. Companies should aim to create a "golden customer record" - a central collection of all data for each individual customer.5. deploy data scientistsDealing with these new volumes of data and knowledge about customers and user behavior requires additional expertise in marketing departments. In addition to creative minds, sober analysts who can evaluate and interpret data are needed. The central task of these "data scientists" is to transform the data into usable knowledge and offer recommendations for action.6. visualize analysis resultsGraphical dashboards should be available to those responsible so that they can make decisions quickly and in a targeted manner. This allows key figures, patterns or trends to be visualized so clearly that they can be grasped and understood at a glance. This makes it easier to make strategic decisions as well as to react at short notice.7. use findings at all levelsThe insights gained can be utilized at various levels. For example, the data can be used to continuously and automatically display personalized offers and content that are precisely tailored to the individual needs, the current situation and even the current location of each individual user. In their daily work, online editors have the opportunity to tailor their texts specifically to the needs of their readership. Product managers can improve existing products or design new products and services. And CMOs or marketing managers receive well-founded and reliable facts for their fundamental decisions and campaigns. "The personalized approach to each individual customer, as is increasingly required in the 'Age of Me', can only be successfully implemented if companies have the necessary data, integrate it and evaluate it," says Monika Schütz, Business Unit Manager Content Management at Arithnea. "However, data-driven marketing can do even more if it is tackled correctly - namely to make all decisions faster and better and to verifiably check the effectiveness of the measures."
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Data-driven marketing enables those responsible to make better decisions - because they can rely on facts and no longer have to trust their gut feeling. In practice, however, there are often only rudimentary solutions that do not fully exploit the possibilities of data-driven marketing and therefore leave many opportunities untapped. Digital business expert Arithnea explains seven best practices that companies can use to tap into the full potential of data-driven marketing.1. ensure a comprehensive databaseOnly those with sufficient data can get to know their customers precisely and approach them with tailored offers. This is why companies should not only use their own data sources such as CRM or website tracking systems, but also purchase data and user profiles, for example from predictive behavioral targeting providers, and use data from partner companies.2. evaluate social media channelsSocial media must not be forgotten when collecting data, as they provide particularly valuable insights. On platforms such as Facebook, people generally express freely what they really think about a company, its products and its services. With the help of suitable social media monitoring tools, this information can be collected automatically.3. include offline channelsIt is no less important to track customers' activities in offline channels as well as possible. In physical stores, for example, GPS tracking or beacons can be used to track which products a customer touches, takes from the shelf or buys. The use of click-and-collect offers can and should of course also be taken into account.4. integrate dataEven the most comprehensive data is only worth half as much if it is stored in separate islands. An accurate and reliable overall picture can only be created when all of these data sources are brought together. Companies should aim to create a "golden customer record" - a central collection of all data for each individual customer.5. deploy data scientistsDealing with these new volumes of data and knowledge about customers and user behavior requires additional expertise in marketing departments. In addition to creative minds, sober analysts who can evaluate and interpret data are needed. The central task of these "data scientists" is to transform the data into usable knowledge and offer recommendations for action.6. visualize analysis resultsGraphical dashboards should be available to those responsible so that they can make decisions quickly and in a targeted manner. This allows key figures, patterns or trends to be visualized so clearly that they can be grasped and understood at a glance. This makes it easier to make strategic decisions as well as to react at short notice.7. use findings at all levelsThe insights gained can be utilized at various levels. For example, the data can be used to continuously and automatically display personalized offers and content that are precisely tailored to the individual needs, the current situation and even the current location of each individual user. In their daily work, online editors have the opportunity to tailor their texts specifically to the needs of their readership. Product managers can improve existing products or design new products and services. And CMOs or marketing managers receive well-founded and reliable facts for their fundamental decisions and campaigns. "The personalized approach to each individual customer, as is increasingly required in the 'Age of Me', can only be successfully implemented if companies have the necessary data, integrate it and evaluate it," says Monika Schütz, Business Unit Manager Content Management at Arithnea. "However, data-driven marketing can do even more if it is tackled correctly - namely to make all decisions faster and better and to verifiably check the effectiveness of the measures."
