Data is a crucial part of successful modern digital marketing, but crafting it into the perfect strategy is more than just guesswork. Having gathered statistics from over 150 marketers on their most significant data challenges, we found their most common issue was the struggle to connect all data sources into a single ‘golden’ profile – the 360° customer view. We spoke to our ITG Consultant, Carijn Meijer-Nollet, to discuss her strategic approach and how to turn data into valuable insights.
How do you help ITG clients with their data strategies?
“At ITG we use data to convert the omnichannel marketing goals of companies into successful marketing strategies. We connect and set up the systems with which customer data can be collected, and we advise on a perfect mix of tools that lead to success.”
One key challenge our clients face is having polluted or “dirty data”. Can you explain why it’s essential to have clean data?
“When you build a house, you make sure that it has a solid foundation. The same goes for data and digital marketing. For example, if a customer can book a room in your hotel via multiple providers, a new record is always created. Because your system doesn’t recognise the multiple visits, you miss the opportunity to offer loyalty rewards. Hyper personalisation and data-driven marketing is only possible with a solid foundation of clean data.”
With the arrival of the cookie-less era and the latest iOS15 update from Apple, we see a shift towards permission-based marketing. What role will data play in this?
“Permission-based marketing and data are inextricably linked. These new developments from industry giants force marketers to work more creatively and make it harder to obtain, store and analyse available data. When someone gives permission to use their data, this must be stored with a timestamp, location and place of issue. Marketers are obliged to ensure they have a platform where this is possible and the data is safe.”
What advice would you give to a client who has too much data that isn’t being put to good use?
“More data is not always better. Think carefully about the data you need – from a legal point of view, for processing orders, for your marketing campaigns, etc. Observe retention periods and think about the relevance of your data.”
What is the role of data in the personalisation of campaigns?
“Without data, you won’t know the most relevant way to communicate with your target audience. Even for a simple birthday email you need data. You need it for an abandoned cart campaign, whereby you store data about products that are still in the shopping cart. To provide someone with appropriate and personalised offers on your website in real-time, you need to collect data about their search and purchase behaviour.”
How does data management contribute to reducing churn rates?
“When you have control over your data, it is much easier to predict customer churn rates. You get an idea of how far along the customer is in the customer journey, making it possible to take action when needed. The most efficient strategy against churn is to predict possible future dropouts and offer them a good incentive in a timely manner.”
What are the most valuable channels to collect data?
“Every industry has certain channels that deliver the best results for them. For example, at ITG we help our e-commerce customers with webshop to provide insight into website behaviour e.g. the most popular products, search behaviour and products viewed. For those who do not have an online store, there are many other channels available. For example, email is still very strong in collecting relevant data, along with website pop-ups or social media.”
What trends in data management do you see for the future?
“The amount of data that companies process is growing. To best serve the customer, data on their preferences must be the driving force behind fully personalised campaigns.
“For a complete customer view, data must therefore be centralised. We see larger companies doing this more and more often, but in the coming years smaller companies will also have to follow this strategy if they want to keep up with, or even get ahead of the competition. Customers are also becoming more demanding – they increasingly expect personalised interactions but are simultaneously less willing to part with their data. Our advice is to be clear about why you are asking for data, what you are going to do with it and then to keep that promise.”
For further information on how ITG can help optimise your data usage to deliver successful digital marketing campaigns, or to discover more about our world-leading technology and award-winning services, contact hello@inspiredthinking.group