In the past, marketers used to build brands using intuition and qualitative research. But things have changed. Today, the most effective companies, campaigns and communications are made better through the assessment of quantitative data. By analyzing large amounts of data collected over time, organizations can craft brands that truly build their reputation and drive their bottom line business goals. In today’s post, we’re sharing our favorite tips from marketing thought leaders about using data to build brands that matter.
After buying a hot dog for lunch, you’re given a coupon, which you later use to buy a discounted hot dog. We now understand the incentive pattern that resulted from our promotion, but is this information actually valuable to our brand? Truthfully, not really – we still know very little about your relationship with our brand or if next time, you might be willing to try a hamburger. Although short-term promotions can be influenced by recently collected analytics, a strong brand is best aided by data trends that are established over time. According to Peter Horst and Robert Duboff, both established marketers, “sales-oriented marketing influences short-term actions, [but] branding prompts feelings and understanding of what a brand represents”. Although one type must not be prioritized over the other, data should not be used so prematurely that valuable long-term information never has the chance to emerge.
The branding process has evolved rapidly in recent years – whereas marketers used to worry primarily about the brand’s packaging and television spots, they must now consider many more variables. Social media, websites, and online media have not only created greater opportunities to establish and manage a robust brand, but also amass vast amounts of quantitative data from users. At Movéo we advise marketers to ensure that they are using the right tools to gain the most insight from these new platforms. We recommend that modern marketers expand their tools to include web analytics, marketing automation, their CRM and media.
As we mention above, modern brands are established across many platforms. Each day, consumers come into contact with your brand’s social media pages, TV spots, print ads and packaging, which makes brand consistency imperative to success. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. According to Elena Klau, director of strategy and insights at North America Momentum Worldwide, the most valuable data lies between the linkages across customer experiences with the brand. This “Dark Data” often falls between the cracks, and organizations fail to tie all channels and metrics together to assess total brand experience. To correct this, Klau recommends conducting a robust audit of data gathered from total brand experience, which will help ensure that consumers are getting the same message at every point of contact.
Your brand provides the foundation for every marketing decision, and the right data can provide valuable insights that make this base as strong as possible. If your organization is considering using data to analyze or improve your brand, check out our tips for researching a brand refresh.
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