Data Driven Marketing: Some examples of using data as a force for the good


Posted March 23, 2021 by aliceworly12

This article originally appeared in the MarketingSherpa email newsletter.
 
Nowadays, you can't work in the marketing industry without constantly talking about data. Data-based marketing. Big data. Marketing analysis. Facebook is worth more than $ 650 billion, not because photos of cats and selfie from grilled sandwiches are so rare. This is because Facebook is just one big bag of user data.

But I have to admit that you could find yourself on the same boat with the help of data, it doesn't seem natural to me. I work in marketing because I'm a creator, not a statistician.

If you feel the same way, here is an analogy that changed your mind. I did interviews with Peter Fader and Sarah Toms of Wharton. We discussed how Electronic Arts uses data to improve the product. "When they realized the power of the data Pete was just talking about, they had a little identity crisis." They are like, “But we are a creative society. How can we all be still now, still? Toms said.

Zach Anderson, director of analysis at Electronic Arts, captured these creative hearts and minds with this analogy: Cooking competitions show where chefs do incredibly creative things with the ingredients given to them.

So data is really just another ingredient you have when you bring your creativity to a classic matzoh scoop soup or marketing campaign.

"Data is actually a good thing to accept because it allows them even more creativity," Toms said.

So with this approach in mind, let's look at some examples of using data as a force for good in improving marketing results.
Example no. 1: A focused look at data helps non-profit e-commerce organizations identify the best opportunity to increase revenue.

The data can be overwhelming quickly. So many numbers. How do you find an opportunity?

TenbyThree © is a non-profit organization that sells products. Caritas sells baskets created by artisans in rural communities in developing countries to help artisans get out of extreme poverty.

And there was a lot of work with his team covered in so many directions. Where to focus? This goal is particularly important in the rise of COVID-19.

TenbyThree sold these baskets primarily in brick-and-mortar stores such as Whole Foods Market, Disney theme parks and specialty retailers. But with the pandemic, there has been a huge drop in pedestrian traffic and therefore sales, so the non-profit organization has tried to increase e-commerce sales through its website.
The team at MECLABS (the parent organization of MarketingSherpa) worked with TenbyThree to determine where to focus their conversion optimization findings.

This data analysis revealed a hidden opportunity in on-site product labels. Each basket sold in stores had a label with information on how to connect with the individual artisans who created the basket by going to the TenbyThree website.

Very few customers have used this feature. If brands could be optimized so that more people could use the craft web search feature, then increasing traffic would probably help increase website sales.

In The Marketer as Philosopher Episode 2, The Data Pattern Analysis: 3 Ways to Turn Insights Into Insights, you can see the methodological approach used to uncover this perspective to help you identify more opportunities in your own data. The episode also teaches viewers how to use a tool to analyze data models (you can download this tool for free here).

If you need further assistance with data, you can attend a live coaching meeting with Flint McGlaughlin, CEO and CEO of the MECLABS Institute, on Thursday 20 August 2020, starting at 1 p.m. at 2:00 PM EDT. In this Q&A session, participants will learn how to set up and use the Data Model Analysis Tool, simplify their data with three selection keys, and apply the principles of The Marketer as Philosopher: Episode 2 to their own business.
Example no. 2: Targeted database helps rotate the creator of the statutes

It would be an understatement to claim that COVID-19 forced the company to make significant changes. We all live it, we all know the impact it has.

However, some changes are more demanding than others. When this change is aimed at a new ideal customer, it can be difficult to turn it around quickly. Many companies have built their customer base and customer contacts for many years.

This is where external data can be useful.

For example, TentCraft sells tents to producers of concert events. In March, however, the global industry closed with events. Although the team has always known that they are too narrowly focused on one industry and need to diversify their business, they have never had time to act.

But as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

Suddenly they had to turn their whole "go to market" approach and quickly find a new target customer. The team came up with the idea of ​​turning the concert tents into COVID-19 test facilities, but they never sold them to hospitals and did not know any hospital administrators.
The team was looking for a way to quickly enter a new market without increasing overhead costs. They worked with ZoomInfo to obtain data and information for hospitals and other healthcare systems.

They used company and contact search to quickly implement a layered approach. The marketing team would start with a broader information approach by creating an information list with 2,000 to 3,000 contacts. Through open courses, responses and interviews, they learned not only what specific roles they should focus on, but also what their weaknesses are.

The sales team would use this information to create a more targeted reach of 100 to 200 contacts, then customize the messages and visuals to show how TentCraft can address specific issues.

Click-through rates for opening larger emails ranged from 15% to 28%, while more specific lists typically ranged from 35% to 45%, with a few approaching 60%. Keep in mind that when you see these numbers, it was just cold.

Because they had phone numbers, job titles, and location information, the marketing team was able to provide this information to the sales team in real time when opening and clicking on emails. connections. This helped teams set priorities, engage in conversations faster, and shorten the sales cycle.

Revenue of more than $ 600,000 disappeared in March alone, but for the first two months of that turnover, the company had sales of over $ 2 million and April was the largest revenue month in history. business (during a basic income pandemic). They are now 12% ahead of last year's pace. In the first month of Pivot, they signed a contract with more than 100 medical facilities with which, let's recall, an industry with which the statute maker had no previous experience.
This pivot was reactive. And while it has worked so far, the company's mindset has changed.

"The big advantage for our team is that we have to constantly focus on new markets, new products, features and partners. It means achieving speed and agility in implementation, "said Matt Bulloch, President of TentCraft.

Example no. 3: Test data shows the benefits of sequencing values ​​for HR software

The value offer of your company has many impressive elements. However, your client may not be ready to receive them all at once. That is why efficient sorting of values ​​is so important.

At what point on the road to the customer should the customer become acquainted with the various elements of the value of your business? The data can show you the way.

David Richter wanted to use marketing data to find out how to place his company's brand and the messages used at each stage of the marketing funnel.

Richter works for CIPHR, a software platform for HR departments. "It's a crowded market and we compete with more than fifty different suppliers every year. In terms of functionality, it is extremely rare for a seller to have a significant advantage in the whole market. If game-changing features evolve, they quickly replicate to other similar vendors, ”said Richter, CIPHR's Chief Marketing Officer.

One thing that distinguishes the CIPHR is, according to Richter, its position on the integration of the people management platform with specialized third-party tools. Because larger competitors have strategically acquired complementary businesses, they have less incentive to integrate third-party tools they do not own, Richter says.

However, Richter was concerned about leadership with this "connectivity" in marketing communications.
"Connectivity is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition), on which CIPHR has hung our hat in our market and the position in which we want to build a strong brand," he said. "The problem is that at the time of their initial employment, most HR professionals don't think about what they might be looking for when looking for an HR system."
The inclusion of terms such as "API" or "integration" in the subject lines has halved the HR SaaS e-mail opening rate. About two thirds of all potential customers are generated through the CIPHR website. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the messages for conversion.

In order to demonstrate to senior management that the CIPHR needs to adjust the focus of its messages at each stage of the sales cycle, Richter's team decided to try different messages on different landing pages on the web. Landing pages were only used to transmit PPCs from the exact same keywords with the same display ads that attracted the click.
Homepage name no. 1 - General human resources software with benefits, such as "Human resources software that reduces the amount of paperwork and helps you work more efficiently", transmits on-demand transmission at 14.1%.
Homepage name no. 2 - HR software with connectivity Management e.g. "HR Software with Brilliant Connectivity" transmits the transfer to the survey at the level of 10.2%.
Landing page name no. 3 - A post on connectivity without mentioning HR software, e.g. "Connect employee data to your organization," translates the survey to 6.4%.
Armed with this data, CIPHR executives are now pleased to be able to keep up with relevant product and benefit reports on the website (before engaging), which make linking a distinguishing factor. "We now also have a strong awareness-raising campaign to educate those interested in the benefits of connectivity," Richter said.

Example 4: An online school meditation A / B test doubles student enrollment rates

By participating in A / B testing, you can learn from actual customer behavior to better serve customers and improve results. Here is an example.

"We have made tremendous success in building our platform with a data-based approach to most of our marketing decisions," said Kyle Greenfield, founder of TheJoyWithin.org. "One example is how we used Google Optimizer testing in combination with a temperature map and Hotjar feed data to improve the layout of our blog."

An online school of meditation, happiness and personal empowerment found that less than 1% of blog readers signed up for free meditation classes. The instant bounce rate ranged from 79% to 81%, although most readers spent three to five minutes on the web.

The team tested two elements of the blog layout: sidebar and internal online ad placement.

The team tested a new approach that is intended to be a direct view of the various opportunities that new students have on the platform. They left a banner ad titled "Discover a clear and modern path to happiness" with a list of potential benefits. The new approach was a direct question for the user with the question "How can we help?", Together with an explanation of one sentence that was offered and three possible ways: "learn to meditate", "increase my happiness" and "manifest my dream life".

They tested different variations of this idea and finally found that a clearer and more direct message with fewer graphics and design elements resulted in better conversion.

This change was associated with an integrated ad placement test. It started as an insert in the front line before the post. However, the team found that users were more interested when several paragraphs were placed in the blog post. Previous data reported this decision because the team knew users were already reading the content and scrolling down the page.

Thanks to this change, the team was able to more than double the student enrollment rate and reduce the immediate departure rate from 12.5% ​​to 70%.
Example no. 5: The incubator generates 300 electrodes to help fight hunger

For marketers who want to do well in the world, sometimes forgetting basic data, your site should have a landing page with the ability to collect data from those who want to help things.

For example, Not Impossible Labs (NIL) is described as a unique technology incubator and content studio focused on changing the world and making the impossible possible for individuals facing a variety of challenges (but referring to it as "nonsense"). ).

Recently, the NIL has addressed the absurdity of hunger, which has made the COVID-19 pandemic even more pressing. Prior to the pandemic, NIL began working with Salesforce and Postmates on a prototype platform to feed unsecured people on a large scale. The incubator has created a text service that connects people in need of food with prepaid and nutritious meals with them from nearby restaurants. A child or family in need of food can write the text "hungry" and the solution will connect it with the surrounding restaurants with another food that would probably be unnecessary.

In March 2020, when the pandemic hit the United States, the NIL implemented programs across the country to serve some of the 42 million people, including 15.9 million hungry children. every year.

How did they allow or should I say that it is not impossible to fight hunger? Landing page marketing.

Verndale and Sitecore offered pro bono assistance in creating a landing page on the web that captures visitor information in a form linked to a customer relationship management (CRM) platform for data storage.

"We've kept everything simple, from design and messaging experience to providing a variety of ways to get involved. More conversion points have created more opportunities to get involved, "said Ross Lucivero, CEO of Verndale's Los Angeles office.

NIL has been able to gather data on approximately 300 potential customers who are ready to donate, collaborate, disseminate information, identify a new city, or join their local community.

"The new ability to attract individual leads and increase our ability to re-engage audiences is a pioneer," said Joseph Babarsky, Director of Strategy and Partnership, Not Impossible Labs.

This re-engagement relies on being able to obtain information about who previously visited the landing page, and then provide them with another marketing message, a call to action on the Not Impossible homepage for those who visited. Search the campaign page, but it is not converted by submitting a form or gift. "This personalized invitation will once again reach out to informed visitors and bring them back to the campaign environment for them to take action," said Liz Spranzani, Verndale's senior vice president of technology.

"If you have an open mind, what seems impossible can become possible." This time, you can see again the work that Not Impossible Labs is doing to help people with various disabilities, and of course their anti-hunger project, ”said Paige O'Neill, CMO, Sitecore.
Example 6: Internal operation of a customer review page

Most discussions about the use of data in marketing have focused on categorizing data collection. First-party data is collected by the company itself, and third-party data is sold to you by a company that collects data from many other companies.

In addition to how data is collected, you must consider how customers perceive it. I would classify this data in two ways: data you control and data you do not control.

The information you follow may be in your ad or on your website, such as "Nine out of ten dentists recommend Brusha Brusha toothbrushes."

Data that you do not control can be shared in the press or on social networks, especially on review sites. An example is a site called Best Company.

"The whole mission of the best company is to use data to improve the decision-making process of consumers in several sectors. As a company, we believe that we are changing the world forever by empowering consumers to make the best decisions they can with their money. We are a truly independent and impartial review site that promises accurate ratings and honest reviews and refuses to reward undeserved positions for money, ”said Rebecca Graham, Content Manager, Best Company.

This means for your business that a customer experience with products and services is also part of your marketing. The more you control and optimize your experience, the more you can optimize this type of data for your brand. "When reviews are accessible to everyone, companies doing business with high value and integrity will naturally become reputable leaders, while less trusted companies will lose their status," Graham said.

You can also learn from these websites. They provide valuable insight into how real customers see your brand, as well as social evidence and third-party credibility opportunities that you can leverage in your marketing. "For example, on the Lendio commercial lender reviews page, potential customers can see a breakdown of star ratings on more than 400 verified customer reviews, including ratings of sentimental criteria such as value for money and customer service. Lendio, which currently has an average of 4.7 / 5 stars based on customer ratings, can use the above data by sharing on social networks and through content marketing and e-marketing. by mail, "Graham said.

So use your business value, watch how you express it in your marketing, and then see where customers agree and disagree. Where can you learn from customers to express the valuable elements of your marketing that customers have but don't communicate well? For example, Cotton Mask Co. found that her face masks were particularly useful for hearing aid users, as they monitored customer reviews and focused their marketing accordingly.

However, also examine the reviews carefully and find out the shortcomings of your brand. Is it because customers assume that your business has a value element that is not part of your stated value offer? If so, refine your marketing. Or is it just that your company does not meet its value offer? In this case, you have data that shows why the marketing department needs to be involved in the customer's product and service experience to improve.

Because consumer control platforms provide customers with data when considering a purchase decision, it is important that brands understand how they work. So I asked Graham for an overview of the best company. There are a few that she couldn't share (such as how their algorithm works), but hopefully the mini chat below will help you better understand how this information about your business ends online and a little more about the companies that placed them there. .
MarketingSherpa: How do you make money? What is your business model?

Rebecca Graham: Our two sources of income come from:

1) Generating leads for affiliate partnerships

2) Business Suite subscription.

Like many other sites, we may be rewarded through affiliates with companies at BestCompany.com. But we have no relationship with any companies that would guarantee or influence their ratings or scores, and we will never do so.

The basic profile is free for any eligible business in the United States. Purchasing our B2B Business Suite reputation management product cannot increase your brand ranking, but it can provide traffic statistics for your profile page and improve them to improve visuals and performance. thoroughness, such as displaying product images and videos. , adding a FAQ section and highlighting how you excel in your competition.
MS: How do you get reviews? How do you check them?

RG: The best company receives thousands of review contributions every week. Each submitted review goes through a very thorough moderation process to ensure its accuracy before it is published on BestCompany.com.

Reviews are generated in four ways:

1) Organic and direct transmission, t. J. Users visiting our site

2) BestReviews, our review generation process in which we collect customer reviews on behalf of the company. For companies with a list of customer contacts, we offer fully managed e-mail and telephone requests, as well as a customized form through which companies can learn.

3) Reviews from charitable and fundraising groups

4) Opinions requested from our members

ALL reviews, whether organic or requested by the company, go through our review moderation process, which involves verifying and analyzing email addresses using our fraud threshold algorithm (including not disclosing details to prevent companies from trying to "play" the system) .

In addition, Best Company reserves the right to reject or remove reviews that violate our standards, including content that is irrelevant to the company or service of the company being inspected, appears to be instigated, or contains content. false information.

We also encourage consumers to resubmit reviews with the latest business experience.

MS: How do you ensure that companies do not manipulate your data to improve?

RG: Here are some of the protocols we use to ensure the accuracy of data reporting on our site:
Companies will not receive a numbered ranking until they have at least 10 reviews on their profile.
Badge accreditations are only available to companies that deserve them (for example, a company with a rating of 1 or a position in the top 10)
The company cannot hide or remove negative reviews from its BestCompany.com profile
Best Company believes that moderate reviews posted on its website are valid unless the company proves otherwise by false information, moderation errors or duplicates. More information about disputes can be found here.
Example 7: An independent financial advisor cites resources to increase credibility

This following example is a little different from using data in marketing, but I thought it was worth showing it to you because I noticed that the marketing industry has an endemic problem with credit resources.

There are so many bold marketing claims that they shout and brag. But why should anyone believe these claims?

Alec Tuckman shared with me the story of a seminar that held on stock market performance. The participant often challenged him.

"I didn't want him to look bad in front of my wife, I didn't face confrontation or anger, I just pulled out a rough notebook full of clippings from the Wall Street Journal that I had compiled for these five. Over the years, "said Tuckman, owner / operator, Wealth Management Partners in Los Angeles.

Each of these articles supported Tuckman's statements in the marketplace. Although he didn't get the business from that particular participant, Tuckman felt it gave him instant credibility. "Data is the best marketing tool," he said. "The ability to cite a trusted and known source gives you credibility."

However, don't just use data, otherwise you risk damaging the credibility of your brand. "Make sure the data comes from a reliable source." I wouldn't recommend quoting something you've read from friends on Facebook IM when trying to prove you're an expert on a specific topic, such as the stock market. Be sure to get material from trusted sources such as Kiplinger, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Bloomberg, ”Tuckman advised.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3caLbXC
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Issued By Alice Worly
Country United States
Categories Accounting , Advertising , Banking
Tags data driven marketing , data driven marketing strategy
Last Updated March 23, 2021