Fight inflation with data-driven marketing

As inflation threatens to eat away at hard-earned marketing budgets, every dollar counts and CMOs need to get a more intimate understanding of their return-on-investment metrics. Strong key performance indicators reveal new avenues for profit as well as areas that can be trimmed. Plus, with a continual analysis of marketing sales funnel statistics, marketers can optimize their customer journey.

The first step: powering your business with data-driven marketing.

Gather the data that matters

While your business generates numerous data points, the key is to focus on those that will lead to growth. “Gathering any and all data available will only leave you with your head spinning and a splitting headache. To reiterate, the right data is what’s needed to drive marketing in the right direction,” said Ryan Doubet, Marketing Consulting Managing Director at KPMG.

To begin, pose the questions that matter most to your business – and then explore how your data can answer those questions. For example, dig into your data to understand your customer journey channels, asking questions like: Which platforms receive the highest interaction and why? Which keywords resonate with which persona? Which marketing campaigns generate the greatest revenue?

Analyze for improved efficacy

Once you have the right data in front of you, harness its power through analytics. A compelling dashboard will merge different data to show the opportunities and challenges that inflation presents.

“Keeping a close eye on your metrics will reveal which programs are your star performers, which aren’t bringing in the numbers needed, and where new inroads can be made,” said Stefani Sanchez, Marketing Operations and Technology at KPMG. As for your middle-of-the-road campaigns, now is the perfect time to incorporate multivariate testing to determine if they can be further optimized for greater success.

Allocate the budget efficiently

When inflation is on the rise, it’s necessary for companies to keep a closer eye on all spending – and for those who don’t comprehend its possibilities, marketing can be first on the chopping block.

But, with a strong data and analytics program at your disposal, you now have the tools you need to make data-driven decisions about where your marketing dollars should be spent. It may even surprise some CMOs to see how much further a restricted budget can take them with a few simple tweaks.