The evolution of data analytics has been one of the most important developments in the history of marketing. Having the ability to collect, understand and integrate customer data has opened up the possibility of learning more about what really drives an audience to engage, purchase and share. With the abundance of technology and innovations available to capture all the customer data they need, marketers are fast becoming data and analytics experts. But are you one of these data-driven marketers? Read below to find out!

You know your data goals. Customer data can be extracted from many internal and external sources – analysis software, big data, competitive intelligence reports, on and off-site customer interactions, online surveys, landing pages, social media, and more. With so many options it can be overwhelming, but a data-driven marketer thinks about what they want to achieve with the data prior to looking for the source. Whether you want to discover why traffic dropped over a certain period, or gather personal data to improve customer experience, knowing your goals beforehand will allow you to look only in the most relevant places for the data that will actually be useful to you.

You identify opportunities from data. Insights to be garnered from customer data are not usually black and white. A data-driven marketer will ask the analytical question: why? Asking why helps marketers stay focused on change, improvement, and optimization. After you obtain the information you were seeking, it is easy to think that you have come to a conclusion. However, data-driven marketing involves continual interpretation and openness to identifying new opportunities that you may not have originally set out to discover.

You use data to supplement, instead of substitute, your marketing strategy. Being data-driven does not mean ignoring creative. Even if you have the most relevant, useful data, your marketing strategy will fail without a strong creative idea. Smart marketers realize that even when data drives the results; it is really the creative that drives the message. By using data to enhance instead of deter creatives, marketers will channel a strategy that yields the most success.