The analysis of marketing data allows us to offer customers personalised experiences, adapted to their expectations. Thus, data has become increasingly important in recent years, and is now essential to offer relevant and efficient campaigns. ClicData, a data analysis and reporting platform, wanted to take an interest in marketers' practices. To this end, ClicData conducted a survey of more than 100 marketing professionals regarding their use of data. Here are the findings of the study.
Data analysis: a crucial but still under-exploited tool for marketing professionals
According to the survey results, marketers are aware of the importance of data analysis. Indeed, almost half of the respondents (49 %) consider it an essential part of campaign management. Conversely, only 1 % of the panel considers data analysis to be of no importance.
In practice, however, while 42.3 % of marketers say they use data analysis consistently, 32.7 % still do not use it and 7.7 % use it rarely. In addition, the study shows that 10 % of respondents have never used a data analysis tool.
How do marketers use data analysis?
According to ClicData, it is necessary for analysis tools to become part of the daily life of all employees and to be installed throughout the projects. On the other hand, the study reveals that - on the whole - these tools are still not sufficiently integrated into marketing strategies.
Data analysis mostly used to measure advertising expenditure
The most common application of data analysis is the measurement of advertising spend (for 82 % of respondents), ahead of customer profiling and lead generation. According to ClicData, this is consistent with the fact that controlling marketing investments is a basic need for companies. Axelle Dervaux, Marketing Director at ClicData, considers that it is indeed imperative for organisations to use it in order to adapt their spending as much as possible.
The most common reasons for using data analysis cited by the marketers surveyed are
- Measurement of advertising expenditure and campaign ROI (81.7 %)
- Market research, customer profiling and segmentation (70.2 %)
- Monitoring of lead generation and lead nurturing campaigns (69.2 %)
- Monitoring engagement on social networks (63.5 %)
- Analysis of customer loyalty and churn (53.8 %)
Data analysis tools are still unsophisticated
In terms of analysis tools, the survey reveals that marketing teams primarily use reports from business tools (CRM, social networks, website analysis). The report also shows that while social networks are specifically targeted by advertisers, the native reporting offered by the platforms is often limited, preventing teams from having an overall view. In addition, the heavy use of spreadsheets shows the often rudimentary nature of data processing by companies.
According to ClicData, integrated data analysis tools could be an interesting option for marketers, as they allow data to be linked together. However, only 14.4 % of respondents say they use them.
The advantages and limitations of marketers' data analysis tools
To understand how companies could optimise data processing, ClicData asked marketers about the tools they use, and in particular to identify their strengths.
The 5 main advantages identified by professionals are
- Good value for money (58.3 %),
- Intelligence: tools to generate relevant information (48.5 %),
- Ease of use (44.7 %),
- Power: able to process any type and size of data (32 %),
- Scalability (31.1 %).
These results are indicative of the importance given to profitability: marketers are looking for inexpensive and simple tools. ClicData explains this trend by the compression of marketing budgets and considers that it could represent a brake on the competitiveness of campaigns. This analysis is confirmed by the disadvantages identified by the respondents: 46.1 % consider that their tools offer difficult access to data, and 45.1 % believe that their tools lack flexibility.
In the rest of the study, ClicData looks at the levers to adopt for a better data management, in terms of tools and methods. To learn more about data analysis in marketing, you can download the report complete.
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