5 Steps for (Actually) Becoming a Data-Driven Marketer

The Gist

• Shared insight alignment. To build a foundation for data-driven marketing, focus on aligning with stakeholders to measure key metrics that directly impact business KPIs.
• Actionable data insights. Turn data into action by identifying quick wins and setting up early warning systems. This allows you to make smarter, data-driven marketing decisions.
• Continuous improvement focus. Embed data-driven decision-making into your organization’s culture for consistent marketing success and measurable improvements.

If you’re like most marketers, you’ve probably read too many think pieces on the importance of becoming a data-driven marketer. While no one disputes this necessity, the roadmap to getting there is unclear. Experts tell us all about the “why,” but the “how” is left unanswered.

Most marketing teams know data is the secret to proving value and bottom-line impact. Still, they often struggle to implement meaningful data strategies that actually improve their campaigns. It’s not for the scarcity of tools; there’s no shortage of platforms and techniques. Nor is it a shortage of data; most of us are drowning in too much of it already.

The problem lies most often in logistics and presentation. The lack of accurate, actionable data prevents us from leveraging it to make confident decisions, guide strategy and demonstrate value to the organization. Instead, we hang our hats on data like email deliverability, open rates, click-thru and CPM to prove success.

But companies don’t care about any of that. They care about profit and loss (P&L). So, the question becomes: “How can marketers influence P&L and prove it?”

While many marketers are hesitant to measure their efforts in terms of P&L (“What if it’s not as good as we hope?”), it turns out that giving people tangible results — even if they’re not great results — goes a long way toward establishing credibility.

Step 1: Establish Shared Insight

The foundation of data-driven marketing success lies in creating a shared understanding of what to measure and how to measure it. Start by aligning with stakeholders on the metrics that matter and their sources.

There’s no need to identify all these metrics; identifying 20% of data that will drive 80% of the impact. Focus on 10 to 20 key dimensions (like industry or campaign name) and associated metrics (such as conversion rate or revenue) that provide the most valuable indicators for business KPIs.

Then, determine your reporting scope. Be intentional about what you report on and what you exclude. Trying to accommodate everyone’s needs often results in unfocused, ineffective reporting.

To ensure clarity, centralize data management and control access. Self-serve analytics can create chaos, and it isn’t sustainable. I recommend treating your data warehouse like a pharmacy, not a retail store. Provide guided access to data that’s fit for purpose, rather than free-for-all access that can lead to conflicting metrics and misinterpretation.

Related Article: 5 Ways Data-Driven Insights Are Reshaping Customer Segmentation

Step 2: Conduct a Data Diagnosis in Your Data-Driven Marketing Strategy

Before implementing new reporting initiatives, it’s crucial to understand your current data landscape. First, assess your data quality. Evaluate record hygiene, campaign performance tracking and activity measurements. Are you collecting what you think you are? And is it what you need?

Review data flows to ensure you understand which data is being written to specific fields and how this impacts upstream processes before it appears in reports. Establish baselines by capturing current metrics and historical performance data where possible.

Next, evaluate risks for expanding your reporting capabilities. Consider factors such as data accuracy, report complexity, resource requirements and system performance.

Then, develop a change management process for introducing new reports or modifying existing ones to ensure proper communication and alignment with stakeholders. Avoid reporting for reporting’s sake on metrics that don’t contribute to decision-making or strategic planning.

Step 3: Extract Actionable Insights

With a solid data foundation in place, it’s time to focus on deriving meaningful insights. Start by identifying quick wins. Look for low-hanging fruit that can demonstrate immediate value from your data-driven approach. Prove and then move.

Use data tracking to establish an early warning system for potential issues before they become critical. For example, consider setting parameters that thwart over-spending before it gets out of control. I had one client promoting an event who spent so much time and effort haggling over a single email campaign that it ended up costing over $10,000 simply due to poor coordination. Create stop-gap alerts that prevent things from going so far south.

Next, target specific changes with incremental goals. Determine which aspects of your marketing operations to improve and how data can support those efforts. For example, perhaps you want to add 50,000 new names to your database next year. Break that down: How can you add 4,200 a month?

Step 4: Implement Robust Reporting Tools for Data-Driven Marketing

Too many marketers start here, but that’s putting the cart before the horse. Once you’ve laid the foundation of your data-driven marketing strategy, then it’s time to invest in technologies that enable effective reporting and analysis.

Remember that measurement must be built into the campaign execution process; you can’t shove blueberries into a muffin after it’s baked. Implement processes for tagging, identifying visitors and tracking campaigns to ensure consistency in measurement and naming conventions for data fields.

Deploy dashboards and templates that create standardized reports, allowing stakeholders to access and interpret key metrics easily. That includes data visualization. Use charts, graphs and other visual elements to make complex data more accessible, digestible and meaningful.