Getting a basic understanding of marketing science can help you make better decisions in your career. As you’ll learn, there are a number of challenges to marketing science, but there are also a number of opportunities for marketers. And, if you’re willing to take a closer look at the research behind the science, you can discover how to use it to grow your business.
Hard metrics
Historically, marketing has largely been an art. However, the advent of digital channels has opened up the floodgates for data-driven marketing. Now, the art of marketing has a hard time justifying its place within the organization. And, with the uncertain economic climate, marketers are under increased pressure to show their value. The right metrics can make the difference between success and failure.
The hard metrics to track include things like the number of clicks, visits, and leads generated. In order to get the most out of this data, it’s best to have a centralized platform to house it. And, it’s also important to know when to track. When analyzing hard metrics, a savvy marketer will tweak scoring to measure specific patterns.
The most important thing to learn from this article is that the right metrics aren’t just about generating big numbers. Rather, they provide essential financial data that can help your company make better decisions. This means that, as a marketer, it’s important to use the right metrics to prove your worth. The right metrics will tell you where you are and where you’re going. But if you don’t have the right metrics, you’ll be wasting money on ineffective strategies.
The best marketing metrics are the ones that show the most ROI. This is especially true if you’re trying to get buy-in from senior management. As you might imagine, there’s no one way to do this. For instance, if your metric is the number of clicks, it’s probably not a good idea to track it by hand.
The most cost-effective way to do this is by utilizing a marketing analytics platform. With such a tool in place, you can compare and contrast your performance across departments. The data will help you to identify any gaps in your marketing strategy. And, it will also help you to demonstrate your worth to the C-suite. Moreover, you can use these tools to drive specific actions to happen. In addition, these methods will give you instant feedback.
Examples of marketing science in action
Using marketing science to your advantage is not about magic beans or tweezers. It is a matter of a well-designed and executed research plan. Getting the details wrong could cost you millions of dollars. A well-crafted survey can yield valuable insights into customer preferences. The biggest challenge is ensuring the right questions are asked, and not just answered.
The most enlightening part of the exercise is determining which metrics to measure and which to omit. While a statistically valid sample size is important, it is not the only metric to measure. In fact, it might be better to have a hypothesis-free approach and simply re-evaluate the results every six months or so. It might be best to make a list of the top three or five key variables and stick to that list. The key to marketing success is implementing those key metrics into the fabric of your business.
The scientific method is the most logical way to approach this type of effort. There are several techniques for conducting a survey, and it is important to use a well-designed questionnaire to extract the most valuable information.
There are many pitfalls to avoid, including presenting a survey form incorrectly, not properly formatting data, and failing to ask the right questions. For instance, the most common question in a survey is “What are you working on?”, but a more targeted query, such as “What projects are you working on?” will reveal valuable data.
It is a good idea to perform a small-scale pilot study involving a small group of consumers, to see how they respond to your marketing campaigns. If you are a B2B brand, try to offer a free download as a means of getting potential customers’ attention. The best way to achieve this is by presenting the opportunity in an interesting and engaging manner.
Drawbacks of marketing science
Developing and testing models of marketing is a significant achievement. However, if we are not careful we can become overly obsessed with a model. Especially as it becomes more and more sophisticated, we risk using it incorrectly.
In recent years, there have been many new developments in the field of marketing science. These developments have been primarily focused on testing models related to customer behavior, channels and markets. There is also plenty of hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things.
Moreover, marketers have begun to incorporate work from other disciplines. This has led to the development of a highly structured modus operandi. But it does not mean that marketers have lost their creativity. It does, however, require new skill sets and a willingness to keep up with the changes in the market.
One of the major challenges in marketing research is that it is often difficult to understand how relationships between organizations work. Because of this, marketers must be willing to adopt new scientific methods. These methods can provide a rational framework for marketing research and help marketers make more informed decisions.
But in order to apply these methods successfully, marketing scientists must have a solid grasp of the scientific method. In addition, they must be able to communicate with people and understand the qualitative aspects of quantitative research. They can also analyze data from other sources.
These skills are often watered down by the high levels of technical sophistication that are emphasized in today’s marketing profession. While it may seem like marketing scientists are simply number crunchers, they are actually creative problem solvers. They can translate the work of other engineers and scientists into a context that can be used in marketing.
In addition, there are also concerns about the validity of models that are used in probabilistic improvements in marketing. Such models are simplistic approximations that are not always true in real world scenarios. This is particularly important because it is often not possible to prove that a model is true, or that a model is in fact causative.
The future of marketing science
Whether or not you believe in the power of marketing science, it’s undeniable that it’s become an important tool in helping brands engage consumers. New technologies are bringing about changes in the field and will continue to do so in the future.
Motion sensor technology has enabled marketers to gather new information about their customers. They can now identify when people view their ads in real time and can follow up with retargeted messaging. Location intelligence also helps brands know where their consumers are. This can help them target users, understand their interests, and identify the best times to deliver ads.
Companies are relying more and more on CRM systems to track their marketing activities. These systems provide snapshots in time, but aren’t giving the complete picture of what’s happening. As a result, many marketing leaders aren’t focusing on the most important things.
Another major development in the world of marketing science is the Internet of Things (IOT). It’s not just the physical devices that businesses will be able to absorb. It’s the valuable data that they will be able to collect. Through the IOT, companies will be able to identify what is working to drive revenue. This will allow them to make more informed decisions, ensuring that they don’t waste money.
The new realm of marketing science will be one that connects marketing with revenue. This will allow CMOs to quantify the impact of their marketing efforts. It will also allow them to use data to create better, more engaging, and innovative ads.
This will open up new pathways for marketers to use artificial intelligence, such as chatbots, to complement their applications. With these applications, they can analyze social speech to find the nuances that indicate personality. It will be these insights that will help them make more personalized and impactful messages.
As marketing science evolves, we’ll see companies using artificial intelligence to help them more accurately predict business outcomes. This will give them a competitive edge. As a result, they’ll be able to more efficiently spend their marketing dollars and focus on what investments are the best NPV – or Net Present Value – for their company.