Marketing has become synonymous with data and analytics. Wait, did I just say that marketing is equivalent to data? Why yes, I did. Marketing is no longer confined to simply branding a product or service, but rather is being used to draw insights that generate greater numbers of high-quality leads and create more personalized customer experiences. And – you guessed it – they are doing this by using data to prove the value of marketing and drive more targeted messaging.
In fact, marketing provides more of a competitive advantage for businesses than ever before. The data now available to us from our marketing efforts, including call analytics, offers more opportunity to optimize ROI, yet we have somehow ended up with more systems and siloed data than we know what to do with. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the thought of big data, or by the number of programs with which your data is collected, integration presents the ability to combine this information in fewer places. Linking this data enables us to get the full picture of marketing effectiveness across channels, devices, and conversion methods to see which activities have the greatest impact online, offline, and mobile.
Still skeptical that marketing isn’t about the numbers? Here are a few stats to reinforce how marketers are embracing big data and data analytics and trying to determine best practices to integrate this vast amount of information.
Marketers Recognize the Value of Data and Integration
As technology grows and we have more access to data, many marketers understand that they have a lot of information at their disposal and need to find a way to combine the disjointed sources from which it comes. More data equals more feedback on our marketing, and with that the opportunity to optimize what may or may not be working.
1. 85% believe big data will dramatically change the way we do business in the future. (Accenture)
2. Majority (37%) indicated that big data will have the largest impact on customer relationships in the next five years. (Accenture)
3. 62% say creating a single, central customer marketing database that houses customer experience information is a priority for their organization. (Forbes)
4. 79% agree that companies that do not embrace big data will lose their competitive position and may face extinction. (Accenture)
5. The vast majority (9 in 10) believe that connecting the disparate tools in their company’s marketing technology stack would improve their ability to innovate, personalize consumer interactions, send timely messages, boost loyalty, evaluate campaigns, and increase return on marketing investments. (Signal)
Yet They Are Confused on How to Integrate
Real-time personalization of our marketing stems from the ability to have integrated data platforms, yet marketers acknowledge their tools are currently being underutilized and they still face obstacles to implementation.
6. Senior executives polled in North America said their companies were using an average of 36 different data-gathering systems and vendors. (Forbes)
7. 38% say too many systems and 37% say siloed data are a top technology challenge to developing a single customer view. (Forbes)
8. 51% of marketers say they have yet to integrate marketing technologies beyond the most basic level. (Signal)
9. 1 in 2 marketers report that fragmented technologies impede their ability to create a consistent experience for consumers across the web, mobile, and other channels. (Signal)
10. Only 4% feel well prepared to move forward with cross-channel marketing based on their technology stack capabilities. (Signal)
And Don’t Forget to Close the Loop on Your Reporting
Marketers looking for the full picture of their marketing efforts, and want close the loop on their reporting, understand the need to analyze data from all lead sources, including the ones sales professionals deem most valuable: phone calls. According to BIA/Kelsey, 61% of sales managers consider inbound phone calls to be excellent leads, more than any other type.
And as the proliferation of smartphones grows, so too are the number of inbound calls to businesses (BIA/Kelsey). Tracking calls and utilizing voice-based marketing automation tools offer marketers a competitive advantage with a growing and valuable lead source. And it’s easier than ever to integrate this data into existing CRM, web analytics, marketing automation, and bid management systems, as well as other applications.
Interested in garnering more data from your marketing? Check out our eBook, The Definitive Guide to Voice-Based Marketing Automation to learn how VBMA tools offer advanced call analytics and the opportunity to integrate call data with existing applications.
