Data-driven marketing. We either just said your favorite words, or increased your heart rate just a little. Your boss wants it to become the core of what you do, and most marketers want to take advantage of the wealth of data out there too. Getting started can seem overwhelming — especially if you consider yourself a traditionalist, with no data-science experience. It doesn’t have to be, and it doesn’t require a degree either. But, it’s smart to go into your data-powered era with a plan, so here’s our readiness check for you. 3 steps to get up and running with data driven marketing.
Readiness Check: Get Started with Data-Driven Marketing in 3 Steps
1. Define your goals
Your natural first thought might be reactionary. Something along the lines of “Let’s collect all the data. Now. No matter the cost”. In terms of process, that’s a bit like trying to bike the hills of San Francisco while learning to ride. It’s impractical, you haven’t learned the basics, and you’re bound to get scraped up. Take a step back and prioritize why data-driven marketing is key top your business, and what high level goals this change can affect. Discover what it is you’d like to know about your customers, and how this knowledge will change the customer journey for the better. By creating a solid foundation for the why of data-driven marketing, the how will much more easily fall into place.
2. Define your roadblocks
Before you can implement any new strategies or technologies, and thus begin your journey towards data-driven marketing, you need to define what’s breaking your current processes. Most likely, your data isn’t connected and free flowing between systems. Your tech is disparate and your data is siloed. And, there’s a product new onto the scene that promises to blow through these roadblocks. The infamous CDP. These newcomers will rationalize your data into customer profiles, but that’s not a complete answer to being ready for data-driven marketing. To activate your rich customer data, you’ll need a plan and solution that take that data the extra mile. Consider Blueshift’s Customer Data Activation Platform as the first of its kind alternative to traditional CDPs. Rather than taking your data halfway, it brings it full circle with constantly updating profiles that use the power of AI to design and execute dream campaigns.
3. Define your leadership
Next, it’s key to assign leadership who can facilitate the transition. All of the aforementioned steps require the right people leading to pull it off. So, because the process of rolling out data-driven marketing changes can involve different teams across many departments, your leader should have cross-functional power. Furthermore, having your data-driven strategy be run by cross-functional teams only bolsters the likelihood of success. A great customer experience takes hard work from marketing, dev, sales, and customer support. So, your plans should involve these teams too! The result? A customer journey that feels natural, personal, and hits home every time.
NEXT STEPS WITH TECH
With these 3 requirements in hand, you’ll be well on your way to data-driven marketing and customer experiences. If you’re interested in diving deeper into building a 21st century tech stack with data in mind, check out our talk from Martech West with Agora. Want to jump right into what Blueshift has to offer? Demo our platform today.
