Using data properly can be challenging to marketers. Our ability to collect data has improved significantly, but is our usage of said data keeping up with the times?

In short, probably not. There are great marketers out there absolutely killing it for their brands, so why shouldn’t we all.

Here are some simple ways to use your data more efficiently when it comes to marketing.

Put the data before the marketing

In the not-so-distant past, advertisers and marketers would use data to measure how well their campaign was doing. Today, brands are starting to realise it is time to use the data to actually figure out who we should be targeting. This simple mindset change is helping define your customer target and saving money and effort.

This is definitely a case of putting the cart before the horse.

Understand your value proposition

Figuring out what data should be your focus is often the challenge for most brands. We have access to mountains of data, but honestly, not all of it is relevant.

Often the best way to identify the data that matters is to start by defining your organization’s unique value proposition. By understanding what your customers want and how you provide them with that value, allows you to define exactly what data points you should be tracking.

Don’t forget your customer

Sometimes we tend to get too attached to the data and we forget that we are using that data to market to our customers. Maybe, we should spend some time trying to understand our customer better the old-fashioned way.

Data alone won’t show you the right way to approach customers; it also requires a lot of empathy.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask how you would want to be treated.

What do you want the brand to do for you? Once you’ve figured out the right questions, you can look for data that can help answer them.

Embrace change

Agility is a must-have in today’s fast-paced and data-driven world. Setting benchmarks is important, but be prepared for them to change every few months as you evolve, grow and understand your customer better.

Companies that are doing a good job at this are always asking whether the numbers they’re comparing themselves to are still relevant.