Perfecting Making Decisions Based on Facts in the Strategy Phase

No longer a “nice to have,” having the tools and data to make choices based on data is a must. Teams that plan based on gut feelings and anecdotes are falling behind more advanced brands that use data insights and predictive analytics.

The best way to run ads is with data-driven marketing. But it will be hard to change the way people act and make decisions so that they can use better knowledge. This is the first of three articles that will help marketers make the switch to making decisions based on data by getting past common problems.

Let’s start with the first part of strategy, which is the basis for all successful marketing efforts. This is the part of the campaign where avoiding anecdotal proof and other mistakes is most important. When these problems are dealt with early on, marketing efforts are more successful and have a bigger impact.

What goes wrong with making decisions based on data

It seems simple and obvious to use good data to make smart decisions, right? But why do a lot of groups run into problems when they try to use this method? Let’s look at three common ways that people with good goals can quickly lose their way.

Based on anecdotal evidence

There is a reason why marketing leaders and pros get where they are. Many of the things they know came from their many wins and life lessons. What they often use to help them make strategic choices.

This sounds like a good idea, but there is a risk. It’s common for decisions based on personal experiences or single examples, also known as anecdotal evidence or use cases, to have an effect that wasn’t meant. Things don’t always go the same way, and the lessons you learned from one situation might not help you in this one.

For example, a marketer might push a certain social media strategy because it worked well for a coworker’s retail startup, even though their own business brand has a very different target audience and market conditions.

Great leaders and managers learned through trial and error when to use lessons from anecdotes and when to use data to figure out the best way to handle a situation. Most of the time, even if anecdotal evidence is useful, it should be paired with data that is directly related to the case.

Is your business stuck because it relies on expert advice that doesn’t use the data that’s available? Avoid using anecdotal proof by putting in place strong ways to collect and analyze data. Do a lot of study on the market to find out what your audience does, what they like, and what they need.

Tools like polls, focus groups, and analytics platforms can be used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. To make more targeted and effective marketing plans, make sure that the choices you make are based on data that is relevant to your current market conditions and goals.

Not having clear goals and KPIs

You can’t make good choices based on data if you don’t know where those decisions need to lead you. Any marketing plan that doesn’t have clear goals and aims that can be measured will fail, which makes it almost impossible to be data-driven.

A general goal to “increase brand awareness” without saying what that means or how it will be measured is an example of not having clear goals. It’s hard to know how well something is working or what changes need to be made without clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). It’s possible for teams to work hard but not see any real progress toward important goals.

Additionally, there is a key difference between using data after you have set a goal and using data to help you set your goals. Setting goals like “increase website traffic by 20% in the next quarter” or “get 500 new social media leads from the upcoming campaign” are good places to start. But what does the data say about the best places to get leads or traffic? It doesn’t matter how much data you have if your goals aren’t good if they won’t likely lead to more sales or if social media brings you your least value customers.

Instead, figure out what the big problem is that you want to solve and then let data guide your work. Say you want to get 500 new leads from a new marketing effort. First, look at the channels that brought you the customers who were the most loyal and had the highest lifetime value. Focus on email instead of social media, like if that channel is email. Making a social media effort might be a waste of time and money.

Data layers and not being able to get to data

Before you follow any of the tips above, make sure you have good access to data and that the data you have access to is very accurate. Now we’ll talk about the third big problem that makes it hard to make good decisions based on data during the strategy part of marketing.

When it comes to making decisions, data gaps, bad integration, and not having access to important data can make things very hard or even impossible. This is caused by many things, such as:

Different departments own different kinds of data.

Systems with many parts.

There aren’t enough common reports.

This means that even the most data-driven and well-meaning person could make important strategic decisions and plans based on incomplete or out-of-date information. What steps can businesses take to avoid this problem?

Invest in integrated data systems to fix the technical problems and encourage teams to share data with each other to help break down the walls between people and processes. A lot of big brands use a marketing-focused customer data platform (CDP) that easily combines data from different sources, like email marketing tools, social media analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Leaders should encourage teams to work together and talk to each other so that useful data is shared and used effectively and any gaps in the data are filled. By getting rid of data silos and giving your teams a full picture of your data, you can learn more about your customers, how they act, and the chances you have, which will help you make better decisions.

What to do next

Making decisions based on data during the strategy part of your marketing builds a strong base for the rest of your work. When your efforts start, projects end, and customers interact with your brand, you’ll get better results if you avoid common problems and use the best and most up-to-date information.

In my next piece, I’ll talk about why data-driven decisions are important when running marketing campaigns and how to keep an eye on your data, avoid relying too much on meaningless metrics, and make decisions quickly to make your campaigns more effective in real time.