Are You Spending Too Much Time Gathering Data?

How much time is your company spending handling data? According to a survey of more than 800 data professionals by TMMData and the Digital Analytics Association, it’s probably a lot.

The findings show that almost 40% of professionals spend at least 20 hours each week, accessing and preparing data before they reach the point of analysis. Here are three key takeaways from the survey:

Data Is Costing Enterprises a Lot of Time

Among managers responding to the survey, 43.8% said that 51% or more of the week is spent preparing data, rather than analyzing it. Data professionals also report significant challenges with access, with three in five saying it takes days or weeks to access the data they need, and 10% said that they can rarely or never get access to complete data.

Confidence in Accuracy Creates Threat to the Industry

Slightly less than half of respondents (48.3%) reported that they question the accuracy of the data they access. Inaccurate data was named as one of two top analytics challenges. Some cite the absence of formalized guidelines for data governance as a root problem for data quality, with 22.7% expressing concern.

Companies Are Ready to Prioritize Investment in Analysis

Data integration was the most-often cited area that respondents noted as an area for investment priority in the next year, noting the importance of consistent, applicable data practices.

Data-Powered Agility

It’s no secret that companies with more investment in prioritizing digital, data-powered marketing practices were more equipped to pivot with agility during the early months of 2020. For many of these companies, shifting gears was as easy as shifting their focus away from in-person events to already-established digital formats like social media, email marketing, and SMS campaigns.

Start With Great Data

When it comes to marketing, there’s a goldmine waiting for companies willing to measure customer and audience behaviors and then adapt their efforts to personalize the brand experience. But without the right tools, these efforts are a drain on the marketing team.

Marketing automation offers a way to remove the manual processes associated with data-powered campaigns. Not only are your analytics automated, but even the marketing activities themselves can be automated. From email newsletters to SMS messages, your campaign is fully streamlined while you simply view the analytics to determine whether you’re meeting your goals.

It can be a good idea to begin with a small set of measurable behaviors. For instance, do some A/B testing on two landing pages: one that accepts inbound traffic from social media and one that receives traffic from an email newsletter. Determine which landing page is receiving more traffic, and then determine which is more effective at inviting visitors to enter your website from the landing page.

Another idea is to run a promotion, supported by content in video, blog, social network posts, and email newsletters to determine which format is delivering the best response.

From these small tests, you will be able to see the power of data to fuel more revenue-generating activities in your marketing campaigns through marketing automation.

DirectMail.io can help you get to the analysis and application of your data faster. With everything in one platform, your process is streamlined, and you won’t spend hours just gathering data. Contact us at DirectMail.io to get started.