Get to Know Your Customer with Marketing Analytics
Marketing analytics practices use data to help advertisers target prospects, measure the ROI of current campaigns, and forecast demand. Marketers use a variety of technologies and metrics to understand prospects. Marketing analytics pull all of this information together for a more complete view of the buyer’s journey.
While supported by a broad set of tools, there are three main use cases for marketing analytics:
- Identifying prospects and improving the quality of prospect lists
- Monitoring campaign performance
- Forecasting demand and uncovering new opportunities
How Marketing Analytics Improve ROI
Marketing analytics applications put data into context, allowing advertisers to spot trends and indicators that can be used to improve performance.
Such insights may help account managers win new business, reallocate funds toward the most effective marketing channels, and anticipate opportunities. The value proposition is clear – integrating marketing analytics software into the sales process can save time and increase revenue.
Lead Prospecting
Marketing analytics programs can give customer acquisition efforts a boost in several ways.
First, many campaign managers compile information on people who engage with ads or visit the company website. These insights are often collected via advertising networks. However, such applications usually gather only the most basic demographic details.
Advertisers turn to third-party data providers for a more complete view of their visitors. These firms can match online tracking cookies with profiles in their own databases. The addition of demographic and firmographic information transforms mere clicks into real prospects, allowing advertisers to review details like job titles, industries, and company names.
Third-party data can build a robust view of prospects, helping campaign managers more easily identify qualified leads. Configuring campaigns to reach only these users, or people who fit into similar categories, is known as audience targeting.
Campaign Performance Monitoring
Online advertising is unique in that campaign managers can often review ad performance in real time. Metrics such as clicks, impressions, and conversions help them understand which ads are most effective.
Real-time campaign monitoring is a powerful tool for the modern marketer. Underperforming placements are paused or revised, while those with a high ROI may receive additional ad dollars. These insights often result in a more efficient ad spend. Information from other media channels can be integrated with online applications in order to better understand the journey from prospect to customer.
Demand Forecasting
Timely information powers marketing analytics. However, logging historical data is critical for helping marketers identify trends and anticipate demand. Factors such as seasonality can impact the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, where analytics help bring these variables to light.
In addition, complex forecasting models can be used to understand how changes to a campaign might affect performance or which products will be in high demand next quarter. Powered by predictive analytics, these models are the closest thing marketers have to a crystal ball.
Finding the Best Marketing Analytics Solution
The marketing technology, or martech, sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Marketers have a crowded field of programs to choose from. Identifying the best marketing analytics software for your business is largely dependent on your needs.
When looking for a marketing analytics solution, consider the following questions:
- What marketing challenges does your company face? Do your salespeople need help uncovering new leads or are you struggling to retain customers? Different challenges call for different solutions.
- Are your current sales and marketing applications compatible with new software? Many martech tools sit on top of existing applications, such as e-commerce platforms. You’ll want to ensure different programs play well together.
- How reliable is data on prospects? If you decide to enlist the help of a third-party data provider, be sure to ask about their information- gathering techniques. How do they validate details to make sure you can rely on their insights?
- Will the solution work at scale? Enterprise-level businesses may be tracking performance across hundreds of campaigns run by dozens of account managers. Not all marketing analytics solutions can handle such demands.
Marketing analytics technologies are sure to play an ever-increasing role in the daily lives of marketers. A firm understanding of their capabilities is the first step to taking advantage of these powerful tools.
We can help! Explore Dun & Bradstreet’s suite of marketing analytics solutions for enterprise-level businesses today.