In the ever-changing landscape of modern agribusiness, where digital interactions are becoming the norm and consumer preferences are in constant flux, the role of data-driven marketing has emerged as a game-changer. No longer can you rely solely on instinct and intuition to make strategic decisions. Instead, you must harness the power of data to inform, refine, and optimise your campaigns. In this blog, we will delve into the world of data-driven marketing, exploring what it is, why it matters, and how to leverage its potential for success.
Data has become an integral part of the increasingly digital world we live in. Everything action we take, every purchase we make and when we make it is vital information for the brands we interact with, and for those in the know, it can be a cheat sheet on how to keep us coming back for more.
To be successful as a marketing professional in the modern world you need to be able to understand how to identify key trends and patterns in your data to know what your next move needs to be. This data can encompass a wide array of information, including customer demographics, purchase behaviour, social media interactions, website traffic, and more. Instead of basing decisions on gut feelings and bright ideas, data is a quantifiable tool which allows you to make smart decisions when building your marketing strategy.
As an example, if you were creating a marketing strategy for a travel agency, you would want to know the best times of year to be promoting your holidays. Looking at the below snapshot from Google Trends showing the search volumes for “Holiday Deals” in 2017 and 2018, despite there being differences in the exact number of searches made, you can clearly see a pattern of when searches tend to increase and drop off. By using this data, you can determine when consumers are more likely to be searching for holiday deals and plan your advertising accordingly.
There are other advantages to using data aside from identifying general market trends. Using data to learn more about the way your customers interact with your brand can allow you to create a more bespoke journey based on their preferences. Segmenting your audience into distinct groups based on characteristics and behaviours, allows you to create highly targeted and personalised campaigns that resonate with specific customer groups. By tailoring messages to individual preferences, you create a more positive customer journey which will help to increase engagement and conversion rates.
Below you can see an example of an email sent by Groupon to its newsletter subscribers. You can see that the email contains an offer for discount tickets to Legoland in California. This offer will not get sent to every subscriber on their list. Instead, Groupon will segment their subscriber list based on previous purchases and demographics. This means that the discount will only be sent to subscribers who have children as they have a higher probability of purchasing compared to couples who are more likely to receive restaurant or romantic break offers.
To create the right segment for the offer, Groupon will have reviewed the characteristics and demographics of the 350 people who have already bought to determine which subscribers were most likely to convert.
There are a number of important steps to consider when attempting to harness data as part of your marketing strategy.
Data-driven marketing has transformed the way you and your agribusinesses can approach your marketing efforts. By leveraging the power of data, you can make more informed decisions, create personalised experiences, and optimise your campaigns for better results. However, it’s essential to strike a balance between data-driven insights and ethical considerations to build trust with consumers. As technology continues to evolve, data-driven marketing will remain a cornerstone of modern marketing strategies, enabling you to connect with your audience on a deeper level and achieve remarkable success.
