Data-driven Marketing

2 December 2024

Adopt a data-driven marketing approach that provides valuable insights to make smarter, more informed decisions for your organisation.

Dan Zarrella, an award-winning social media scientist and author, remarked: “Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed.”

How often and how well do we use data in our decision-making toward business success? A systematic and disciplined approach in using data can help us achieve our desired business outcomes.

What is Data-driven Marketing?

Data-driven marketing refers to the use of data to gain insights into consumers’ underlying needs. Organisations then use the data to personalise consumer experiences to drive better marketing performance. This minimises guesswork and sets a strong foundation for informed decision-making.

Data-driven marketing isn’t limited to big corporations with large data sets. Any organisation can successfully implement data-driven marketing by intentionally analysing data for strategic business decisions.

To tailor experiences that resonate with diverse consumer needs and wants, consider these questions to help you meet them at the right moment in their consumer journey:

Who are the ideal consumers to target?
When is the best time to engage them?
Which platforms or mediums do these consumers prefer?
What key messages should you convey?

For example, if your business has a CRM (Customer Relations Management) system, you can use its data to better understand purchase behaviour and identify potential target segments based on the purchase patterns. While there is some degree of trial and error, data enhances your chances of success with each iteration, as every trial offers insights to refine your decision-making.

Additionally, analysing marketing campaign reports can reveal engagement levels across different platforms. This helps you to allocate your resources more effectively, directing marketing dollars towards better performing platforms or assets, ultimately increasing returns on investment and reducing waste.

These strategies can also yield business benefits, such as:

Expanded consumer base
Increased consumer satisfaction
Increased brand loyalty
Improved efficiency in using resources
Reduced unnecessary costs, such as ineffective media buys and marketing messaging

How to get started on a data-driven approach?

Your business might have multiple data sets to use.

Kickstart your data-driven approach using the I.D.E.A. framework.

Insight	Design
What actionable insights can you derive about your consumers? For example, understand their challenges, motivators, and triggers to inform your business and marketing strategies.	Design consumer experiences and content strategies based on these insights. For example, select appropriate platforms and tailor your content accordingly.
Enable	Access
Enable personalised marketing executions to enhance consumer experiences. For example, create relevant creatives and tactical promotions that resonate with your consumers.	Assess business results and returns on investment with data. For example, evaluate platform performances through engagement rates and redirect resources as needed.

Insight

Design

What actionable insights can you derive about your consumers?

For example, understand their challenges, motivators, and triggers to inform your business and marketing strategies.

Design consumer experiences and content strategies based on these insights.

For example, select appropriate platforms and tailor your content accordingly.

Enable

Access

Enable personalised marketing executions to enhance consumer experiences.

For example, create relevant creatives and tactical promotions that resonate with your consumers.

Assess business results and returns on investment with data.

For example, evaluate platform performances through engagement rates and redirect resources as needed.

Different data sets will be required for each stage, and they may be owned by different departments within an organisation. Organisations should aim to build robust systems and cultivate a culture of data sharing for a unified view of consumer and profitability.

Finally, be sure to prioritise your data quality. Ensure it is fresh and relevant, and have the right governance for consumer data use. Seek consumer consent and comply with prevailing guidelines, such as the PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

Find Out More

Access more free marketing resources from STB on YouTube.