INNOVATE - Adopting New Data Strategies for Better Marketing

Last month Google produced an essay on data you need to read

As the essay says, "the volume and variety of data has exploded. Data is no longer rare and hard to gather. It's everywhere and many brands can't keep up".


There is a wealth of information in this essay, and some good survey data too. If you manage a program, identifying the top three things most data programs lack is most important:

• Lack of confidence. Data storytelling is an art; it’s hard to learn and hard to do. Your team may hesitate to even attempt it. But if technology can begin to find and surface insights automatically, you're halfway to a good result.
• Lack of trust. "Why should I stick my neck out?" That's the eternal human question. Emphasize to your team that you'll back them up, and encourage them to keep a clear trail of the data that led them to a particular decision or hypothesis for an experiment. Succeed or fail, that data trail will be a valuable learning tool for the next go-round.
• Lack of time. Making the most of data takes daily time and commitment. Yes, finding free time is always a problem in business. But people who have zero time are guaranteed to ignore valuable data.

Here's the LINK

You may think you can't afford data analysis. You do so at your peril.


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
There are many ways to gather data about your online business and customers. Constant Contact gives you a cost effective way to survey your clients. Hootsuite and Google Analytics provide data about your online and social media activities. This is an investment that will pay for itself many times over.