The Data is in the Detail

We’ve all heard the expression before: “The Devil is in the detail”. This refers to the hidden elements in something. We think that this is how many businesses feel about marketing. You know that there’s good stuff in there… somewhere… but how and what do you need to get out of it all?

The good thing is if you’re asking that question, you’re thinking measurement with your efforts! It means that you’re not expecting a silver bullet in your sales and marketing to solve all ills. So, if you have a multi-pronged marketing campaign underway, what should you be keeping in mind to maximize your data collection?

Focus on What is Important

What is the data that you’re wanting to collect? What is the value of that information and how does it impact your business? Once you have established what data is going to be useful, you can start planning action!

Capture & Translate

Once you’ve started collecting data, how do you review and interpret it? What systems do you have in place to review this data?

A perfect example is a website landing page: You have potential customers fill out a form on your website to download an eBook or White Paper. Now what, right? Where does that form’s data go? How is this information used to measure? If you have a marketing form that does not go into a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM)- or at least submit an email to appropriate parties- you’re losing information!

Online AND Offline

In the age we live in, we often forget the ways that we can get information both from digital forms of marketing, as well as traditional forms such as print, trade shows etc. The main point to remember is treat online and offline marketing efforts the same: They must be measurable and you must be able to get an action from efforts that you’re putting forward.

Print has a tactile response that resonates with people strongly, and does not have the distractions of electronic media. You can still combine print with digital efforts so that you can get data insights. Drive them to a landing page, have a strong call to action to get them to convert.

Content, Content, Content Marketing

One of the strong tool sets available today in marketing is Content Marketing. The reason it is so strong is it brings together many aspects of digital marketing and unifies them. The tactics include, but are not limited to:

Depending on the business and industry that you’re involved in, by pairing Content Marketing with your efforts you’ll create a strong ground swell for your Marketing. Also, when your marketing data is siphoned into a CRM or analytics platforms, you now have insights on how to make your subsequent efforts more effective than ad hoc, one-off tactics that so many businesses deploy without much success.

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Brendan is the founder of Unison Measurable Marketing is a full service agency helping companies align their Sales and Marketing departments, and find the ROI in Marketing.