Insights drive growth, growth drives profits… and the cycle repeats. Here’s how to break through your barriers using data-driven marketing insights that convert.
Netflix makes $1 billion annually just from automated personalized recommendations driven by — you guessed it — data harvested from user experiences. Think about how powerful your demand generation marketing could be with just a tenth of that amount and with the proper data collection steps in place!
Here’s the problem: Many business owners are dealing with blocks to this reality simply because of confusion and overwhelm.
We get that; we’ve been there, and we want to assure you that every single business owner who’s gone before you has been there, too. So many small businesses struggle to even start to understand where their data is, let alone what it means. However, breaking through this wall is crucial. Why? Your business is sitting on a goldmine of marketing insights that can help you stop guesswork in your growth steps.
Steps to Find Marketing Insights in Your Business’ Internal Data
Leave no rock unturned as you dig for marketing insights. You never know which will be the key to rapid business growth. Here are a few areas of analysis to start with that’ll supercharge your business’s growth potential.
Your Sales Data
Sales data is one of the most powerful forms of data. It allows you to see what’s resonating with your customers, giving you a path to success for later quarters and seasons.
If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at which products or services are selling the most consistently, both on an annual and seasonal basis. Then, you can study your customer base and determine your highest-value clients.
Knowing these data points helps you shape future offers (such as a holiday sales strategy) and gives you insight into your current profitability.
Encore-Worthy Tip: Segment customers by purchase behavior to find opportunities for upselling, re-engaging lost leads, or loyalty programs.
Your Website Analytics
Digging into your website analytics can be the turning point for higher profitability. Knowing these metrics gives you the basis you need to tailor your messaging, switch up your marketing strategy, or target new customer segments.
Here are a few common metrics to track and what marketing insights from each one can do for your business:
- Unique visitors: This metric tracks the number of site visitors you have, helping you understand your organic growth power. It also indicates what changes need to be made to maximize visibility.
- Bounce rates: Bounce rates indicate how many people enter your website and leave right away, suggesting how engaging your site is on first click.
- Traffic sources: Knowing where your customers are coming from informs your ad strategy and resource allocation.
- Pages per session: This metric shows how many pages are viewed when someone hits your site, and it also measures how engaging your content is.
- Exit rate: Exit rates are different from bounce rates, calculating the percentage of visitors who leave your site on a specific page. This, coupled with bounce rates, helps business owners create more compelling content.
Encore-Worthy Tip: Set routine scheduled tasks to review metrics and their marketing insights. Once you review them with your team, work together to determine how the suggested changes will be implemented across your business’ departments.
Social Media Engagement Data
Whether you’re looking to go viral or you simply want to maintain a consistent brand presence on social media, consider exploring your social media dashboards. Each board holds a treasure trove of information that shows you what your followers care about, expect, and need from you—showing you exactly how you can overdeliver and profit as a result.
The most important social metrics to track are your engagement rates (think shares and comments) and your follower demographics. How old are they? Where are they located? Creating profiles and tailoring content pillars to these profiles is a proven way to grow your following.
Encore-Worthy Tip: Look for patterns—what content gets the most attention, and who’s engaging with it? Create more of the content that works.
Customer Feedback and Support Data
Every business, whether B2C or B2B, shares two commonalities: customers and customer opinions. Being proactive about collecting this feedback works in your favor, giving you insights you need to improve your processes and giving your customers the feeling that you truly, authentically care about their opinion and buy-in.
Actionable Tip: Incentivize customer communication using gamification strategies or appealing rewards. You’ll never
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Analyzing Marketing Insights
Now that you know what to do when hunting for marketing insights and data points, here are a few examples of what not to do.
Mistake #1: Ignoring Negative Data
Focusing on what’s working is tempting, but understanding what isn’t can be even more valuable. Make time to comb through the negative results, which will allow you to pivot and reach the wins more efficiently.
Mistake #2: Relying Solely on Vanity Metrics
Business owners: Don’t get shiny-object syndrome with high follower counts and other vanity metrics. Page views and follower counts might look good next to that blue check, but they don’t always translate into leads or sales.
Mistake #3: Failing to Take Action
Insights are only as powerful as what you do with them. Don’t let them sit unused in a report. Instead, commit yourself and your team to taking tangible action. Starting is the only step that increases your potential for conversion after you receive marketing insights from your data.
Grow Your Business With Rockstarr & Moon
The fastest way to grow your business is to find and leverage your marketing insights. If you’re overwhelmed or not sure where to start, don’t worry — that’s where we come in and rock it out for you, showing you the exact steps you need to take to grow your business sustainably and successfully. Connect with us today to learn more.