Why your Marketing needs to be data-driven.

Data here, data there, data everywhere! It has become an obsession over the past decade - and it’s a pretty big deal too! With all this information out there nowadays, there’s no excuse for you as a company to not know what your customers really want - gone are the days of mass untargeted broadcasting! In this digital age we live in and all these infinite tools at your fingertips, your analysis and targeting should be as accurate as it has ever been. Some companies still don’t really understand the value of data or how to make it work for them. As a leading digital and creative agency based in Dubai, we deal with constant incoming digital information and we are here to tell you everything you need to know about data.

Let’s go back in time a little bit. Back in the 1960’s, marketing was mostly produced on a mass level through direct mail and advertising. 20 years later, it started adopting telemarketing as an additional way of operating. In 1995, email marketing began and flourished. In 2007, when Apple released its first ever iPhone, this is when things started changing drastically because yes, from this point onwards, people were tied up to their mobile devices to a whole new level. Fast forward to today, data had already taken over pretty much overnight. Companies on the other side of your screen are investing a considerable amount of time and money to get to know you better. Sounds a little stalkerish, for sure but Marketing nowadays needs to be data-driven to be effective. Here at Mint Stalk, we are proud to say that we have mastered that aspect of business.

Users’ browsing patterns, social media activity and online purchase behavior are just a few metrics amongst many others that typically help companies decide where to focus their marketing efforts. For instance here at Mint Stalk, we use a bunch of different tools like Google Analytics to track what users look for on your website. Do they simply want to know more about your company? Are they looking for a specific product? How much time did they spend on your website? And so on. Different tools exist for different purposes, some of them require a subscription, others are free but sometimes not as accurate etc. No matter what your options are, data needs to be part of your strategy. As an innovative creative and digital agency based in Dubai, we understand what is at stake here. Jump on the data train while you can, it will completely change the way you view your customers, especially in such a fast paced environment.

Here are a few easy ways you can do that:

Don’t be too generic with your campaigns.

Personalized and customer-centric communications work considerably better. After analyzing the data, you’ll get a better grasp on the different segments of your market and your targeting will be highly accurate.

Customer experience is key.

This is your chance to be remembered. You have to be able to identify areas where you can improve, and data can help you do that. Surveys for instance are a good way to get direct feedback from your clients, whether it is done by phone call, social media, email or face-to-face. Most of them will appreciate the time and effort as they understand that it will lead to a better experience in the future.

Try and anticipate as much as you can.

Looking at other people’s mistakes and failures can teach you a great deal about your own strategy. You know sometimes when a big brand does something scandalous because they were not careful enough, and you just sit there thinking: “wow, I’m so happy I didn’t do that”. Well yes, they learnt the hard way and you also learnt something valuable, from a safe distance. At Mint Stalk, we attentively look at the market and things that go on around here, just so we can be informed enough and offer you the best solutions while you safely dodge the obstacles. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to grow on your own.

Getting the data yourself is time-consuming as you have to know where to look, and approach the right people to do a good job for you. As a leading creative and digital agency in Dubai, we can do that step much better than you - we know what questions to ask, who to ask, how to ask, where and so on! Gathering this type of data does take time, but with some help from the digital tools, it will make a huge difference on the long-term.

Embrace automation.

Some tools can be tricky to use or require a monthly subscription, and sometimes they require some technical skills that only a few people seem to master - which is fine. Taking the first steps towards prioritizing data will make the transition smoother and will help you on a long-term basis. Here at Mint Stalk, we understand the implications of data and have the most qualified people in-house to deal with this.

The three types of big data for marketers to look for are as follow:

- Customer Data.

This is simply your audience and surface knowledge such as their personal information: gender, email addresses, purchases history, web searches etc.

-  Financial Data.

This mostly concerns your organization’s sales and other marketing statistics such as your costs and return on investment, or even your competitors’ prices compared to yours. This can assist you in deciding if you should invest and put your money in something a little bit costly but that will render better results on the long-term.

- Operational Data.

This is all about feedback, your business processes (workforce, logistics …) and how to improve your own performances.

Some examples of things you should look for whenever you’re communicating with your customer base are:

-       Engagement with your email campaigns, such as email open rates and link click-through rates. That will guide you for the next campaign in understanding what worked and what did not.

-       Advertising engagement such as impressions (likes, comments, shares) and click-through rates.

-       Metrics such as cost-per-conversion, quality score, page views, CTA clicks, purchases etc.

The list goes on, and on and on. All these different types of data can help you improve your overall messaging, your landing page offers, your language and tone, your actual product and your sales decisions. Something very important to keep in mind: too much data also disables your decision making. Why? Because it’s easy to become overwhelmed and paranoid about taking the wrong turn. It’s okay to take risks now and then too - the data is important at guiding you, but using the data AND following your intuition and experience can be beneficial too. After all, data can be subjective. In the new future though, it will get more sophisticated and even more accurate. In the meantime, we are all in the same boat. Well not us. As a leading digital and creative agency based in Dubai, one of the best places in the world for that kind of automation, we are fully equipped with everything for advanced market research. Let us help you!