When data-driven insights are used to guide a marketing plan, it can help achieve objectives that are quantifiable, like increasing brand loyalty and generating more sales. The insights can be gleaned from various sources, including customer information, competitor analysis, and even the social or cultural trends that influence consumer behavior.
Marketers combine their own experiences and utilize data sets that are collected and analyzed thoroughly to gain insights. This is referred to as market research and should be conducted in a manner that the data provides value and motivates a particular method of action. It’s important to understand however that the term “insight” isn’t to be used interchangeably with raw data or general knowledge. Insight should drive better understanding of the current and future buyers on the market, and enable an informed decision-making process for growth strategy and identify opportunities for innovation.
Insights help optimize resources and focus on areas that have the highest potential and eliminating the waste from less promising areas. They allow businesses to benchmark their performance against benchmarks and competitors so that they can improve over time. Data can also guide long-term planning by identifying trends or forecasting future events that could impact a company’s product or service offerings.
There are numerous kinds of marketing, ranging from traditional word-of mouth campaigns to social media advertisements. It can be carried out by a company directly, or by a third-party agency who is responsible for creating the marketing strategy for their clients (B2C) or on behalf of a whole segment of the economy, such as agriculture or tourism (B2B). If your business sells power tools, you might want to advertise in home improvement stores and to general contractors.