What does being data-driven really mean? – SAM RUCHLEWICZ | DMR #213

Today I’m joined by a man who’s appeared on some of digital marketing industry’s top publications, including: Marketing Insider, Duct Tape Marketing, Convince & Convert and Digital Marketing Radio! He’s an agency senior strategist and oversees the direction and execution of all his clients’ integrated digital marketing & data analytics initiatives. Welcome to DMR, Sam Ruchlewicz. [You can find Sam over at Warschawski.com.]

What does being data-driven really mean? – SAM RUCHLEWICZ
What does being data-driven really mean? – SAM RUCHLEWICZ

On this episode of Digital Marketing Radio we discuss what being data-driven really means, with topics including:

  • I hear the term “data-driven” a lot. And sometimes I think that it’s quicker and more effective to just follow your gut. Is that wrong?
  • What does being data-driven mean to you?
  • Does every marketer need to be data-driven or is this only relevant for certain marketers?
  • You also talk about an “economic value model for digital marketing” – what does that mean and why should companies use that approach?
  • You also talk about “increasing alignment” – what do you mean by that?
  • What kind of mistakes do marketers make when they are trying to be data-driven?
  • Does being data-driven not sometimes put an overemphasis on last click?
  • What are your thoughts on attribution and measuring the impact of marketing activities that are much more difficult to measure?
  • What changes in technology are likely to make the biggest difference in the world of data-driven marketing over the next couple of years?

Software I couldn’t live without

What software do you currently use in your business that if someone took away from you, it would significantly impact your marketing success?

Google Analytics [Website visitor analytics]

Tableau [[Data synthesis]

Hootsuite [Social media management]

Watson by IBM [AI platform for business]

What software don’t you use, but you’ve heard good things about, and you’ve intended to try at some point in the near future?

SEMrush [Organic search success management]

Netra [Social analytics]

My number 1 takeaway

What’s the single most important step from our discussion that our listeners need to take away and implement in their businesses?

Start with your goals. Come up with the not only the final conversion that you want someone to do, but everything that proceeds it. Go through and analyse your data, understanding the paths to conversion, what the key markers are that are likely to indicate success and then assigning values to each of them. Because without that, none of these other great technologies work the way that you want them to. But if you understand your business model, and you understand the steps that lead to conversion, a world of possibilities are open to you – and you can really have a lot of success.