From campaign-driven to agile
The trend at Digital Marketing Live 2018 could not be more clear: data is hot in the Digital Marketing domain. As is the case in practically all other disciplines at this moment, right? We all want to get our hands on as much data as possible
Why?
Because we know it will help us understand our customer’s behavior better. It also helps Marketing to better justify their efforts. And we know it will save us time.
Still, we noticed that answering the ‘how’ was less obvious. Sure, there were models and numbers shown on how this better understanding increase our number of sales or leads. But how to interpret the data and respond to that in an optimal way? There were not a lot of best practices shown. Many presentations stopped right at that point: where it could become practical and helpful. It seems as if we all struggle to get that next step right.
Analytics meet change management
Which is not strange, because in a way, it is all still new to us. And we are trying to figure out what works and what does not. It also takes time to build up your database and collect as much relevant data as possible. And besides that, analytics requests a new way of (data driven) thinking and working from an organization. Not longer in silos, but multidisciplinary in teams with different skills which complement and cover the whole width of the organization. Not only analytical skills, but most definitely change management skills are required for organizations in order to start working in a data driven mindset.
From campaign-driven to agile
Marketing departments have to start working more agile and step away from working from campaign to campaign. The customer journey doesn’t stop at the purchase. It’s an organic process which continues after the purchase: they become ex-customer and re-become a customer again. During this whole life cycle you will have to be relevant for your customer. The most important type of data for this is still “Transactional data”. This is data which is stored in your CRM: which client buys at what moment and which characteristics do they have. This is your starting point to test hypotheses on look-a-likes and to develop a predictive approach.
Everyone can become an online content writer with Webtexttool
Next to hypotheses and theories, we also came across some practical booths. One of the best practical tools we spotted was Webtexttool.com. This is a tool that makes an online content writer out of everyone. This web based tool knows which words and styling are best read by the online audience and improves SEO at the same time. This helps to grow your online audience and makes it easier to generate relevant content.
Tools like this will make our lives as a marketer a lot easier. After all, all attendants at Emerce agreed that good content is key in marketing. But what is good content? A lot of marketers are sending correct and safely formulated messages. But they don’t trigger real emotions from their audience.
Be bold and be authentic with Virtual Reality
This made us think of what we see in practice at our clients. A lot of people within the organization have an opinion on generated content and it often has to be approved by several layers and it’s edited a few times by several persons before it’s published. This makes it hard to send an authentic message. Sometimes it’s better to be bold and trigger an emotion. Technology like Virtual Reality can help with this. Through Virtual Reality or video a person can experience much deeper emotions than by solely reading written content.
What’s next for Data Analytics?
Being able to interpret the data in the right way is key. Collect as much data as possible from as much customers as possible. Getting to know the customer in a qualitative way is super important. Know what drives them and which values they hold. That will help you to send the right message at the right time.
What we took home? There is a lot of interest in adapting to a data driven way of working within the marketing domain. But don’t forget the soft side! Creativity and change management are still just as important to become the marketer 2.0 we all aspire to be!
