Big data has become omnipresent over the last decade. The collection and analysis of large data sets have many uses, amongst other things being used for marketing purposes. That’s what we call data marketing.
Data marketing can bring many benefits to companies and to brands. The definition of data marketing, or data-driven marketing, consists of collecting and processing large data sets to be used for a company’s growth.
This data can come from different channels: information provided by the client, social networks, third-party cookies, etc. These disparate data sets are then connected and analysed for insights using tools such as data connectivity. Data marketing enables a company to profile and engage their customers in a more personalised way, and to reach new customers through targeted advertising campaigns.
Today, no company can establish itself on a market effectively without data driven marketing.
Types of data usable by data marketing
Data marketing revolves around three different types of data. They are;
1. Data of a company customers
The data that is more utilised than any other is data about the client. Big data allows a precise knowledge of customers, from their socio-demographic profile to their digital behaviour. If collected correctly, the data is plenty and insightful to profiling and engaging with the customer.
The disappearance of third-party cookies in 2024 will somewhat complicate the acquisition of consumer data. New solutions, such as LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution, are emerging in the online e-commerce industry to compensate for this loss.
2. Sales data made by the company
Data driven marketing is also the collection and analysis of business data. By monitoring and forecasting of costs and sales, measuring performance, business data allow better control of a company’s funds.
3. Data about business processes and customer relationships
Data driven marketing also provides a good deal of information about the processes of the various job roles of a company. The analysis of logistics, management and customer relations allows us to detect areas for improvement. Data marketing can therefore help to streamline a company’s processes and improve its productivity.
What can data marketing bring to your company?
If data marketing has its foothold in the industry, it’s because businesses who use it within their marketing strategy are reaping the successes within its business. Indeed, data collection and analysis have many benefits.
Here are the main advantages of data marketing;
- Data marketing for a thorough knowledge of your customers
The main use of data is knowledge of customers. It is now possible to obtain precise information about behaviours to build strong and accurate profiling. A company’s strategy can then be adapted to the customer, ensuring a more personalised experience and reason to engage.
Without the data acquired by the emergence of digital, obtaining such accurate information about the consumer is impossible. It’s important to note that customer knowledge through data is only possible if the consumer has given their consent.
- Data marketing for a personalised and optimised experience
Using and applying insights and knowledge of customers allows companies to offer a totally personalised experience. According to Salesforce, 73% of consumers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations, so this is fast becoming a hygiene factor. Whether in product catalogues, buying channels or displayed ads, everything is personalised for the user.
Artificial intelligence can analyse in real time data produced by a consumer to personalise their experience.
- Data marketing to improve customer engagement
Customer experience is absolutely critical to a company’s success, and Forbes reports 73% of companies with an above-average customer experience perform better financially than companies without.
Data is key to this customer-centricity. It allows a company to set up content that is designed for a well-defined target, giving a level of personalisation of what is shown to specific profiled customers. This gives more reason to engage, and in turn affects loyalty positively.
- Data marketing to reach new customers
By applying data to a customer focused marketing, it is possible to create a specifically targeted communication strategy to reach new customers. It’s also possible to know which broadcasting media to use. In the long run, data marketing can reach a substantial and qualified audience. Data marketing tools can easily find new customers.
- Data marketing for the automation of communication campaigns
Setting up a marketing strategy that could increase sales is never easy, but with big data can be simplified. Data marketing tools reveal insightful information, and targets are identified in a quasi-automatic manner. Programmatic advertising is the next level of this, allowing very precisely targeted advertising campaigns to be carried out in a totally automated way. As these campaigns are easier to set up and more efficient, data marketing allows companies to drive more efficiencies from their ad spend.
How to collect data for data marketing?
Before data analysis is possible, data must be collected first. There are many ways to do this.
The ‘norm’ used to be that cookie-based third-party data was the basis for digital marketing, but Google has since announced the depreciation of third-party cookies as of 2024. As the final date for this project has been pushed back again, the industry may feel it has a bit of a reprieve. This is not necessarily the case, and the industry is working hard to ensure that there are adopting solutions, such as LiveRamp’s ATS, which are emerging to replace cookies.
Solutions like these also allow advertisers to utilise their most powerful tool of all – first-party data. For this, a simple pixel located on a website which, with user consent, helps to identify existing customers and collect valuable data. This data is gathered in a DMP (Data Management Platform) which allows data analysis. The transition to digital document management can provide data on business processes and customer relations.
Data marketing: who can work with data?
Data is used across many professions. Digital communication teams can utilise this data to focus their advertising campaigns on a target. Human resources can use data marketing to streamline processes. Business professions can use data-driven marketing to control companies’ finances.
In fact, there are now very few sectors that do not use big data. It allows a company to base every decision they make on rational, proven elements. Don’t move forward with your eyes closed, and get powerful tools offered by data-driven marketing for your business right now.