Increase ROI with data-driven decisions

Data analysis is the fuel that powers successful marketing and sales strategies, in a world where more and more companies can make precise and informed decisions. Deciding based on guesswork involves a lot of trial and error, which may end up costing your company a lot of money, and that is really bad for your ROI.

Fortunately, using a custom Business Intelligence solution will eliminate the margin of error and provide you with insight that will help you make better decisions for your organization and thus increase revenues and profit. However, seeing the importance of data is one thing, and acting on it is another. Harvesting and analyzing data the correct way can be a game-changer for your marketing strategies, as it can help you bring customers closer to your business. Here are some suggestions of how to integrate concrete insights in your strategic and operational activities, so that you can see immediate results in terms of revenue:

Work towards data-driven company culture

As a marketing professional, you are probably aware of data’s potential and the importance of data-driven decisions in your strategies and campaigns. However, the company will be able to reach the best results only when everybody in the management team, as well as their team members, knows and support your initiatives.
Transforming information into strategies and actions is not a one-person job, but rather a team mission. To make that happen, you have to get everybody on board, by showing them concrete benefits. It is extremely important to share customer data across all business units, for better collaboration and outcomes. For instance, the marketing department can only paint a comprehensive picture of buyers’ journey, if it has access to sales information. On the other hand, the sales representatives can improve customer interaction if they understand conversion rates and the whys behind each lead.

It is important to gather data from multiple sources, but so is having an efficient information flow between departments. To leverage intelligence, data-driven decision-making must be integrated into the DNA of your organization.

Build better lead management strategies

The right KPIs can help you build your lead management strategy and facilitate implementation. Through thorough analysis, you can find out which initiatives bring qualitative leads, and which ones you could forget about in the future. Besides that, by digging deep into information, you can observe behavioral patterns, identify the prospects worth reaching further or establish the suitable channels you can use to approach the target audience.
Briefly put, insights will guide you through your decision-making process and offer you the opportunity to invest time and efforts exactly in the actions and initiatives that are more likely to bring conversions.
To take the analysis even further, you could also use BI tools’ predictive capabilities, which will help you see the big picture more clearly through historical data, foresee your audience’s next steps and meet their needs at the right time.

Create a custom “funnel” experience for your prospects

By analyzing what your audience does in each step of the conversion funnel, you will be able to customize their experience and come up with something interesting for each category of users/visitors. Pay attention to details: what type of content is your audience interested in? What do they do once they have reached the landing page of a campaign? Are they more interested in ready-to-use products, or custom services?

All these questions and many more will find their answer once you have analyzed the data coming from website traffic, campaigns and other sources. This way, you can improve each step along the funnel and make it more valuable for prospects – which, eventually, will increase sales and revenue.

Personalize the content you deliver to your audience

To work as a hook for your audience, content must be not only interesting, but also relevant and relatable. Fortunately, you can create a personalized content experience that will convince people to take action, if you gather the correct data about your audience, analyze relevant KPIs and build your strategy accordingly.

Big data allows you to go in-depth when it comes to information, which enables you to craft compelling custom messages for each segment. The basic thing to keep in mind when creating content is the data about the people for whom the content is intended: demographics (sex, age, geographic location), interests, experience level, etc. Another indicator that will help you build a better strategy is the direct feedback your content gets from users. Most marketing tools allow you to see how your content is performing, what topics are popular amongst website visitors, or what type of lead magnets are more likely to transform website sessions into purchases. Transform this data into actionable insights for personalized campaigns or paths that can guide people on their way to making a purchase.

Win customer loyalty

Generally, in business, most of the profit comes from old customers, and only a small amount is due to new clients. This is somehow normal, because a long collaboration increases trust, so those who have been purchasing your products and services for years are more likely to repurchase, instead of looking for a different supplier.

This means that, as a marketer, gaining your clients’ trust and building loyalty is the ultimate goal. And this can be achieved if, besides quality, you also offer them custom offers, membership cards, special prices, or even small presents and birthday vouchers. The good news is that you can use BI and analytics to grasp the data you need to build personalized promotions for people who have been by your side for a while.

As you can see, big data and analytics are a big thing for marketers today, so do not shy away from using technology as your ally. How you use data can make the difference between a successful campaign and an inefficient one. Besides that, it can be decisive for how you make business decisions to improve conversions, sales and ROI.