There are no Mad Men in digital marketing. Don Draper's decaying carcass marks the end of the gut-driven marketing era. The digital world pairs with humongous data streams. Numbers can explain everything: from transactional paths to human behavior to why we like Walter White more than his wife. It's the dawn of a new era—the Math Men era. Or is it?
On the eve of the data-driven life, not only 'naysayers' ask themselves, "How much data is too much?" Some people even dare to ask: Where lies the thin line between the just-right amount of (personalization, information, automation) and scary, machine-rising, utterly unnecessary show-off.
Facing the problem of "too much," today's marketers must ask themselves what matters more in digital marketing—quality or quantity.
1. Quantity paradigm:
Once the term Big Data came to life, it gave marketers the impulse to start measuring their actions and grounding them in real-life data, and the race for "big everything" began.
In short, Big Data refers to all demographic and behavioral information companies collect about their customers and prospects. Companies can use it to better understand who customers are and what they want, and to optimize marketing actions. From automation to behavioral and transactional profiling to predictive marketing, none of this would exist without online data on users’ behavior and preferences. Since 2012, Big Data has been described as huge data sets expanding in three dimensions: Velocity, Variety, and Volume.
And it's good, you know. In this case — the more, the merrier. The more data you have, the more accurate your predictions of which communication channels perform best for a given recipient, what products to offer each visitor, and even how to run a not-annoying, well-converting campaign across channels, including the online/offline bridge.
Expanding the data in all mentioned “directions” builds the marketer's highest-quality client dossier (individuals and groups).
And here's the thing: the data itself is useless! Using it to enhance one's actions and boost performance makes it valuable. But the average individual can't handle this many data streams.
2. So, is it all about quality?
Well, maybe if I had fewer, higher-quality leads, my business would be both fruitful and scalable at the same time. - Thought a marketer. So he sat in "the dock of the bay" and waited and waited some more for the lifetime opportunity. Spoiler - it never came.
Extremes seldom bring proper results. Again — there's nothing wrong with the quality of the data. Bah! I encourage you to challenge yourself to eliminate all futile requests. Enrich the database with hot (or at least warmed-up) leads, and focus on the denser actions; that will bring you only benefits and satisfaction. Mind, however, that it isn't as easy as one-two-three. Start by asking where to find better leads and how to get more from every action you take (and which efforts are worth the energy you put into them).
3. Where does the “Just right” begin?
If you couldn't answer the questions in the last paragraph in a split second, you have no idea what works best for your business or what to cut first. Let's get it clear. Good customer intelligence isn't wrong, and raising the quality of acquired data can optimize actions and reduce the costs of running a business. So why not make them work together? Modern software such as CRM, marketing automation platforms, and analytics panels enables a high-functioning merge of quality and quantity.
Just take a look:
collecting customer data -> better understanding of consumers' needs -> new level of personalization -> optimization of marketers' performance -> measuring results ->spotting efficient actions and underperforming ones -> more time for self-improvement -> even better performance -> hotter leads ->higher revenue -> etc.
I could go on like this all day. And there's so much more. New technologies translate data streams into remarkable actions. Just to mention AI and Machine Learning, bots, recommendation engines, augmented reality, etc. Big Data, used correctly, can do more good than harm. It affects many areas of a company, starting with marketing and sales.
Conclusions:
The "consumer" is evolving, and so is marketing. Today's consumers (sometimes called prosumers) are smart and picky and usually complete 90% of their buying journey independently. They don't like to be interrupted or told what to do. That is what they claim.
The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between. Those people are so used to smart, dynamic websites that they don't even notice the gentle "pokes" that nudge them toward a purchase. They expect 100% personalized push notifications with a discount when passing by their favorite store. Consumers are no longer surprised to receive an email offer for shampoo + conditioner when their current ones are almost empty. Do you see the pattern? That's right — it's Big Data in action. What makes it even more powerful is its elegant use — not too pushy or hidden. It is the "just right" amount.
As a marketer or entrepreneur, aim for this exact level of personalization. There are many ways to achieve it.
1. Collect data:
But for love's sake, do it smartly. Ask yourself what information is useful in your business — is an apparel company interested when a customer's car insurance is no longer valid? No! Skim through your forms, web beacons, pop-ups, trackers, and so on, and evaluate how important the data they collect is.
2. Translate data into actions:
What's the use of a beautiful suit always hanging in your closet? Data, if unused, only takes up space and gives you a false impression that you are good at marketing. Use automation processes to do the computing for you. If you spot a set of data that seems unnecessary, try to look at it from a different angle. Ask simple questions — what does it tell me? How can I turn it into dollars? If you can't answer them, don't bother collecting the data.
3. Evaluate and optimize:
Marketing Automation experts tell you that the lion's share of time saved by automating processes goes toward testing, improving, and drawing conclusions from campaigns. Learn how to test. Once you find a good pace, it will all come naturally.
Software is the contact point for data and marketing action. A few categories of useful tools are available on the market.
The basic ones are trackers, such as Google Analytics tool or Yandex. They gather basic behavioral information about website visitors. They show where visitors came from, what they looked at, and which buttons/banners they clicked. These tools help you understand customers’ paths on the website.
The next step will be to understand why people do what they do. This requires deeper behavioral and transactional profiling. The tools you are looking for include RFM analytical panels, CRM, and automated tagging systems. The most elegant combination of these is a marketing automation platform. Aside from answering the question “why?”, they help you to decide what to do next and to differentiate the actions regarding customers’ needs.
To pick the right MA platform, you must establish what you need the platform in the first place. Is it to build a buyer persona or to automate a bulk email campaign? To increase conversion rates in your online store or declutter your lead management process? Once you know that, start checking rankings, like the one GetApp publishes each quarter.
Look for the additional benefits. Check each vendor's USP to learn what you can do with a given platform. Also, check the educational offer — do they run live webinars? How many hours of support are included in a basic package? Are they available 24/7 with technical support? Setting these criteria will help you choose the most suitable product and reduce implementation costs, a huge part of which will be handled by the developer as part of a signed agreement.
So which one are you: team Quality or team Quantity? Do you agree with the above statements? Share your thoughts!
Author Bio:
Maja Kowalska - Lead Editor at SALESmanago, focused on helping her readers understand the shift that appeared in consumers' minds during the last 20 years. Maja is also a prolific blogger. She writes mostly about e-commerce, Digital Marketing, and market changes in general. You can follow her on Linkedin, Twitter.
