Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to both run your business and market it effectively?
Relatable, friend.
What if there was a way that you could feel confident both running your business and marketing it?
Using your marketing data allows you to have space for BOTH!
And I know… the words “marketing data” probably feels like the LAST thing you want to pay attention to. But even if you’re not a math girlie, just hear me out…
What is marketing data?
Data is defined as facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.
(I have to address the elephant in the room – do you say day-duh or daa-duh?)
Snowflake explains marketing data as, “the information an organization would use to develop and improve marketing programs.”
Whoa, that sounds realllll big business-y and that’s not the vibe here so let’s debunk some myths while you’re here!
My (not so) favorite ones are:
- You have to measure everything
- Measuring your marketing has to take forever
- You have to do it a certain way
- Data is only for big business
Can myths give you the ICK? These do!
There is no reality where I see it being valuable to measure every single metric – just because you can.
If you are looking to make active change you are much better served by looking at the things that can actually have an impact on the thing you are trying to change, so that you can iterate!
Measuring your marketing efforts can be simple – in fact you get to choose a system that works FOR YOU! We’ll chat more about that later.
My least favorite myth of all? You have to do it a certain way.
🤢 Immediately, no.
We are individuals.
And as individuals (or one women shops, solopreneurs, small studios) or however you prefer to refer to your business.
WE CAN USE DATA TOO!
Let’s redefine marketing data.
What if marketing data just means “the facts collected for reference that you use to improve your marketing plans.”
Why is marketing data important?
Marketing data allows you to make better decisions!
Like Micah who began measuring her marketing so that she can lean into what works and focus her energy there!
Marketing data helps you determine where to spend your efforts (time, money and energy).
Just like my client Kristen who began measuring her marketing efforts because she wanted to keep experimenting and didn’t have an unlimited amount of time to spend on marketing.
Marketing data helps you pour fuel on the right fire!
Like Fran who is now sure that her marketing efforts are paying off, so she can do more of what’s working!
How to decide which marketing efforts to measure?
Marketing data often seems like some hairy, scary thing, but the reason that businesses measure data in the first place is simple really: so they can make the best decisions that they can!
But how do you WHAT data to measure?
Imagine that this is you with all the plates in the air…
Pretty overwhelming, huh? So, how do you decide what to put down?
Identify your glass plates and put the paper ones down.
Glass plates – the things that absolutely cannot fall. The ones that are instrumental in keeping your business running.
Paper plates – the extras (that you may or may not enjoy doing 😜)
How do you identify your glass plates vs. paper plates? Measure your efforts.
Need some help identifying metrics that matter to your business?, I gotcha!
Not sure how to go about the actual measuring part? This blog might help you out!
After you identify your metrics and begin measuring them you can use the information to decide:
- What actions are generating leads?
- What lead source is converting?
If an effort doesn’t make the list and you don’t have a hand to juggle it — put it down.
You can always pick it back up later!
Simple tools to begin measuring your marketing data
Measuring your marketing data doesn’t have to be complicated!
Remember when we talked about how you get to choose a system that works for you?
Yep, this is the time!
- Are you a spreadsheet girlie?
- Does Notion have your heart?
- Do stories make more sense to you?
- Need a visually appealing dashboard to put all the pieces together for you?
Not sure which one would work for you?
Spend time thinking about how YOU best consume and process information.
You want to set up a tracking system that works for you!
How can I begin using marketing data?
Ready to get started using your marketing data?
Here’s where to start:
- Decide what marketing data you need. (Marketing data = the facts you need to collect for reference so that you can use them to improve your marketing plans)
- Decide how you’d like to track it. (What system will you use, so that you can and will reference it?)
- Begin collecting data so that you can use it. (This is the fun part!)
Maybe you’ve generally shied away from numbers in your business because they are scary and make you just a little bit (read: a lot) sweaty!
Just know that you aren’t alone, friend.
And you don’t have to go big or go home. You can start small and keep iterating!
If you prefer someone to step in and jumpstart your marketing measurement efforts so that you can get started using your marketing data – I can do just that inside of my Marketing Analytics Groundwork Setup!
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