Digital Marketing Analytics 101: Why it's Important
Effective marketing is data-driven. Digital marketing analytics not only measure success but also form the basis of actionable and business-driven insights.
But it’s more than just crunching numbers. It’s collecting data, comparing figures, and analyzing them over and over again until our recommendations are razor-sharp and laser-accurate. When data is in the hands of research and analytics experts, it’s more than just a number: it’s a plan.
Whether you need to pinpoint your target audience, track your customer journey, personalize a campaign, or net a larger return on investment, digital marketing analytics is the answer. If you want to take the guesswork out of digital marketing, you need to understand the importance of digital marketing analytics and how it can bolster your business.
What is digital marketing analytics?
But what exactly is digital marketing analytics? And why does it matter for your business? Digital marketing analytics is the understanding of general marketing behavior, acquisitions, and conversions of visitors/customers in digital channels.
Backed up by general digital marketing intelligence, analytics includes both the tools used to analyze and report on data and the breakdown of that data into actionable insights that make your campaigns run smoother.
General digital marketing intelligence includes, but is not limited to:
- How many people are visiting?
- Where are they coming from?
- Which pages and content do they frequent?
- What time of the day/week do they visit?
- How long do they spend on the site?
- How well do you retain users?
- What are the top devices used to access the website?
- And more!
When you put time, money, and effort into understanding how your customers engage with your product, you can better connect with them. But it’s important to understand that analytics is about more than just your website & Google Ads – digital marketing analytics report on marketing data collected through a variety of digital channels. These channels include any place your brand has a presence, from websites and social media to paid media, search, email marketing, and more.
The case for first-party cookies
An effective analytics blueprint includes a lot of different touchpoints, collecting vital marketing data from a variety of sources. But perhaps the best way to enhance your analytics is by including first-party data and other internal business data!
We’re all aware of the impending death of the third-party cookie and how that complicates our digital marketing strategies - but first-party data is here to stay! It’s time to pivot and get a good first-party data capture schema in place to stay competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace.
While third-party cookies come with privacy concerns, first-party cookies are the bedrock of online life. Killing first-party data cookies would kill the internet. Unlike third-party cookies, first-party cookies have nothing to do with advertising or privacy – just functionality. These cookies allow consumers to do everything from adding an item to the shopping cart to scheduling an online dentist appointment, and they provide a wealth of information for marketers.
Tracking first-party cookies gives you access to vital data, answering need-to-know questions like which products or services consumers have purchased, how much $ they spent, how often they buy, and other actionable data points. Access to these analytics allows you to determine the value of visits or the churn rate and make moves to improve your users’ experience. This is why first-party data capture (in addition to internal business data) is so important!
How do analytics relate to the customer journey?
Digital marketing analytics can help you identify the customer journey, shedding light on the process of conversion. When you have a deeper understanding of the journey, it can help you learn more about your visitors and achieve greater success in targeting them.
Taking informed analytics-based action not only increases customer value but also allows for increased levels of engagement at a very personal level. Analytics-informed ads cut through the noise by delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time.
For example, take Andre and Olivia:
Digital marketing analytics can also help you identify audiences you weren’t aware of. Your audience is not always who you think they are, and analytics can shine a light on customer paradigms you didn’t see before. And that’s invaluable!
Why do you need an expert research and analytics team?
When you have an expert research and analytics team, they can demystify the data and convert it into actionable insights.
Analytics expertise can increase efficiency and optimization, helping you to lower your churn rate and keep your audience engaged. Think about it – people won’t unsubscribe from an email if they’re getting important info, and you can’t do strategy without analytics.
Having an expert R&A team to break down analytics into a digestible and actionable format is invaluable. These analytics superstars can see the trends in complicated data, separating the chaff from the wheat.
At Zehnder, one of the ways we make our analytics digestible is through data visualization. That’s what we did for one of our utility customers. By creating an easy-to-navigate dashboard for self-serving online e-bill adoption, we helped them surpass their monthly goals. Because when you can see the data trends, it’s easier to understand your audience and how they interact with your brand.
Doubling down on digital marketing analytics is vital in building and maintaining your digital strategy. Analytics helps you identify which insights are truly valuable. With data to back you up, you can determine which KPIs to measure and how to measure them, collecting actionable information.
However, it’s not worth it to collect data just for the sake of collecting it. Reporting on vanity metrics not only wastes valuable time and energy, but It can also cause you to miss worthwhile info regarding engagement, KPIs, or which existing pieces perform the best. You want meaningful insights, and an R&A team well-versed in digital marketing analytics can help you uncover them.
Am I on the right track?
Digital marketing analytics, especially when utilized effectively, is a vital tool in your marketing toolbox. And when you have a research and analytics team that can help break down complicated data into actionable insights, your campaigns will run smoother.
Whether you’re already utilizing digital marketing analytics or you’re new to the program, Zehnder can help. To capture people’s attention at the right time with the right message, reach out to the experts at Zehnder. Shoot an email to beyond@z-comm.com.
