Can We Overcome Marketing Data Overload?

With millions of people pushing updates through social networks and online analytics tools every day, it's not surprising that we now see marketers overwhelmed by the flood of data that comes with it. Without knowing what you're looking for and having a concrete plan to capture it, it isn't long before marketing data overload kicks in and your business goals begin to suffer.

One of the keys to successfully using social media for business is making metrics work for you. To paraphrase consulting icon Peter Drucker, "what you can measure, you can manage."

The Infinite Pursuit of ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is one of the first things that springs to mind when processing marketing data. Two main dangers can occur when faced with too much data in the pursuit of ROI measurements.

The first is that the deeper calculations required can cause paralysis by analysis, where uncertainty on which of the many data points to process stops you from making decisions and taking action on the resulting numbers. The second danger is confirmation bias. This is worse, as the drive to reach a positive ROI figure causes the selection of data points that support a desired result. It uses the huge volume of data available to cherry pick numbers that show a positive outcome, distorting reality and with the potential to mislead decision-makers into complacency.

To avoid both of these unwanted outcomes of marketing data overload, take an open-minded approach to analysis and be willing to select numbers that at first are limited. Start from a base that you can understand and expand your reporting into only the areas that help you understand the reality of what is happening with your business. Big Data, Small Solutions

Another common challenge in contemporary data analysis is the belief that so-called 'Big Data' requires complex metrics to make it worthwhile. The reality is that the best number is the one that shows you where the business is going, whether it be a complex calculation or stunningly simple. More often than not, the smaller, easy to calculate options are the best solution for your data deluge.With this in mind, it helps to distinguish between two types of measure that we've discussed here before: health metrics and success metrics. Separating out the merely interesting metrics from those that truly tell the story of what's happening with your business is an important distinction to make sense of the data available to you

Ultimately, the volume of data becomes unimportant, as long as you have a clear set of business goals that can be defined and measured. Start from those and work back to understand which numbers feed into them. By working backwards from your goals in this way, you can zero in on the data points that you need and discard the rest to avoid these dangers of data overload. Business phone numbers provide an additional data point for marketers to consider the effectiveness of the campaigns. Using tracking numbers for business phone activity is a smart move for any enterprise looking to quantify and qualify sales and should be a key element in all promotions. Request guidance from RingBoost on getting started with tracking number and acquiring a vanity or custom phone number for your brand today.