So, while the innovators are leading the way with actionable analytics feeding their data-driven marketing, others become stagnant. In today's competitive marketing landscape, this means losing market share, and customers, to your competitors. You don't want that, that's why we've got 10 tactics to help get you back on track.<\/p>\n
Unlock actionable, practical strategy with the RACE Framework<\/h3>\n
Although we all know we need to start using data in a smarter way, it can be hard to know where to start! McKinsey warns that for companies to take advantage in the digital era, businesses will need to 'update their modeling\u2014from pulling in new sorts of data to retraining algorithms\u2014in order to both keep pace with changing needs and expectations as well as anticipate shifts in customer behavior'.<\/p>\n
That's where our RACE Framework comes in. The RACE Framework empowers markers and managers to break down their customer journey across the 5-step RACE structure of plan - reach - act - convert - engage.<\/p>\n
Within each stage, we will guide you to set objectives, and measure the metrics and KPIs necessary to achieve your goals. You can download your free digital marketing plan template<\/a> to get started today.<\/p>\n Free digital marketing plan template<\/strong><\/p>\n Our popular marketing planning template is structured across the Smart Insights RACE Framework. Join Smart Insights as a Free Member to download our digital marketing plan template today<\/p>\n Access the Free digital marketing plan template<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/span><\/p>\n The job of a digital marketer and analyst is not to come up with a lot of fancy-looking reports that contain tons of data. In my opinion, data is just input. The insights you provide should be your most important output.<\/p>\n When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.<\/em> You need to answer what the numbers mean to your business and what action should be taken to improve the most important metrics of the business.<\/p>\n I have worked with many companies that really got stuck here. We've got marketing solutions to help you boost your use of data and analytics to inform your marketing strategy. Our marketing tools and templates are integrated across the RACE Framework, so you can apply a data-driven approach to planning, managing, and optimizing your customers' journeys.<\/p>\n Free digital marketing plan template<\/strong><\/p>\n Our popular marketing planning template is structured across the Smart Insights RACE Framework. Join Smart Insights as a Free Member to download our digital marketing plan template today<\/p>\n Access the Free digital marketing plan template<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/span><\/p>\n Leading digital analytics experts share their examples of how to effectively use data and analytics to generate actionable insights for your marketing strategy.<\/p>\n You can't optimize what you don't measure. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every business is different and should be treated in a unique way.<\/p>\n Let's assume you run an e-commerce site. In this case, here are some examples of what you probably want to know:<\/p>\n You need to think\u00a0in advance<\/em> about what is important for your business. It all starts with asking the right questions.<\/p>\n Go the extra mile to answer all of your stakeholder's questions. This means tapping into the stakeholders aspirations and challenges by asking the right questions.<\/p>\n Examples of marketing insights that could add value for your stakeholders:<\/p>\n You can easily waste hours of your time by getting lost in your data. And coming up with \"insights\" that are already known or not deemed important can be highly frustrating as well! By ascertaining your stakeholders' expectations for actionable insights.<\/p>\n Go for segmentation if you want to take action on your data! By grouping visitors that have some attributes in common, you can start digging deeper. Choosing which segments to study depends on the business question you are trying to answer.<\/p>\n Identifying segments will greatly enhance your understanding of how your customers behave. You can use this information for setting up an optimization plan.<\/p>\n Digital analytics tools like Google Analytics come with a lot of built-in segments<\/a> and provide you with all the freedom to customize them to your needs.<\/p>\n The way in which you present your data will make a huge difference in the outcome. Do you remember these presentations that only include numbers and words? And this compared to clear visualizations that promote cognition instead of confusion.<\/p>\n It's important to articulate a data story with as much what, how, and why behind it. This will turn your data into insights and profitable business decisions.<\/p>\n Everyone has got data and their own personal data-driven insight (opinion). In most cases, a superior understanding of context leads to the best decisions.<\/p>\n Make sure to establish context for the data you are seeing. Examples of data contextualizing questions include:<\/p>\n Data without context isn't that meaningful and can actually lead to bad business decisions because of interpreting it in the wrong way!<\/p>\n Use the \"Define Measure Analyze Improve Control\" process (DMAIC<\/a>) to improve your business. It's one of the Six Sigma concepts you can directly apply in your situation.<\/p>\n Embracing the notion of continuous improvement, we continually aim for the identification and implementation of best practices and work to move closer towards perfect solutions<\/a> for inefficiencies and imperfect processes.<\/p>\n In short, it comes down to:<\/p>\n A clearly articulated hypothesis is the start of any \"analysis\". And the hypothesis should have the\u00a0potential to drive action<\/em>. Come up with your hypothesis by completing two fill-in-the-blank statements: 1) I believe __________. (this is the hypothesis), and 2) If I am right, we will __________. (this is the qualification).<\/p>\n Formulating these statements isn't always easy, but you will save a ton of time wandering through your data and coming up with interesting - but not actionable - findings.<\/p>\n![\"RACE](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/2022-race-diagram.png\")
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\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n Reporting vs. analysis<\/h3>\n
\n~ W.E.B. Du Bois<\/em><\/p>\nTurn data into actionable insights<\/h3>\n
![\"actionable](\"http:\/\/online-metrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Data-and-Insights.jpg\")
<\/a> Being able to collect the right data is one thing, but making it extremely useful requires a different skill- and mindset.<\/p>\n\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n Examples of actionable insights<\/h3>\n
1. Measure the right things<\/h4>\n
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2. Ask the right questions to stakeholders<\/h4>\n
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3. Use segmentation to drive action<\/h4>\n
![\"actionable](\"http:\/\/online-metrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Segmentation-for-greater-insights.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n4. Use clear visualizations to convey your message<\/h4>\n
5. Discover the context of your data set<\/h4>\n
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6. Build a solid optimization plan<\/h4>\n
![\"DMAIC\"](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DMAIC.png\")
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7. Construct a great hypothesis<\/h4>\n
![\"Sign](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/si_blog_banner.png\")
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