The only way to beat the competition in the internet-driven business landscape is to collect as much data on your customers, market, industry, and competitors. That’s why so many businesses rely on vast data to grow their operations.
However, having all that data at your fingertips is only one side of the coin. What matters is how you use those insights. Businesses that rely on data-driven strategies have the highest chances of driving the best results and achieving their goals.
Running a data-driven business means turning the information in your possession into action.
To better understand the importance of data-driven strategies, let’s look at some data-driven marketing statistics:
- 87% of businesses still don’t use the full potential of the data they possess.
- 40% of modern companies plan to increase their investment in data-driven marketing strategies.
- Data-driven business strategies help companies drive 5-8 times more ROI.
As you can see, data-driven strategies can help you beat your competitors and improve your sales. Let’s explore the best data-driven marketing trends you should know about in 2022.
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Table of Contents
Businesses will rely more on first-party data.
Regulations like the California Consumer Privacy Act and GDPR have made it challenging for businesses to gather and use third-party data.
In addition, the most popular web browsers that control more than 90% of the market share, such as Chrome, Bing, Safari, and Firefox, will increase privacy restrictions in the future.
Because of that, modern businesses are resorting to using first-party data or the information they’ve captured directly from their leads, prospects, and customers to achieve their goals.
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The customer journey will involve more touchpoints.
The modern-day customer journey is more fractured than it used to be, involving up to several hundred touchpoints, depending on the type of business, market segment, and purchase complexity. Consumers have also changed.
Nowadays, their expectations are higher than ever. Coping with their expectations and providing exceptional service throughout the entire customer journey is one of the biggest challenges for modern businesses.
Thankfully, data-driven business and marketing strategies can help companies develop a unified, centralized approach. They can become omnipresent across all disparate channels and create a customer-centric, cohesive user experience for each customer.
That’s why it’s so important to rely on data to ensure you have proper attribution for each touchpoint and marketing channel. It helps you identify the best marketing strategies that impact revenue to invest more in them.
For example, investors use a location quotient exercise to feel the pulse of different industries across various regions.
According to the location quotient definition, the location quotient helps investors understand how lucrative a specific region is by assessing its strengths and weaknesses. That’s what a data-driven marketing strategy can do for you.
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Marketing automation and AI are the future.
The internet offers millions of brands to online consumers. No matter how loyal your consumers may seem to your brand, it takes only one bad experience for them to stop doing business with you. Having an unrequited brand reputation isn’t enough to build unprecedented customer loyalty.
You have to deliver a seamless customer experience to every consumer on every channel. The only way to achieve such a goal is to harness the power of the latest technologies such as AI, machine learning, and automation.
For example, let’s say that you’ve just launched a massive marketing campaign, and it’s yielding the expected results. The result is the desired business growth. However, that growth now requires you to scale your operations and the level of personalization you offer.
That’s where marketing automation and AI come into play. You can leverage artificial intelligence for various actions, such as capturing insights from email and phone marketing campaigns, personalizing web experiences, targeting audiences, and optimizing ad bidding.
What data do you need for data-driven marketing?
Since third-party data restrictions have made many businesses shift to first-party data, let’s look at the best first-party data sources you should consider using in 2022.
CRM data
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are among the best sources of customer insights. They allow businesses to gather customer data from their interactions across all channels and store all that information in one centralized location.
CRM data allows you to segment your customers based on their preferences and personalize their experience according to their specific needs.
Web analytics data
Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics are among the most popular tools for capturing information about customer behavior on your website. These tools give you insights that can help you personalize their experiences and send them further down the sales funnel.
Mobile app data
Nowadays, most online consumers use mobile devices to go about their shopping needs. A mobile app can tell you about your target audience and how your customers interact with your brand.
Capturing mobile app data is an excellent way to understand what your customers truly want and expect from your brand.
Conclusion
Data-driven business and marketing strategies are the future of online business. In the age of the internet, data is everywhere. You can acquire it in several ways, such as through third parties and customer interactions with your brand.
A data-driven business understands what drives its customers and knows how to rely on customer insights to influence consumer behavior, preferences, and motivations. If you want to see the highest possible ROI, data-driven marketing is the only way.