Digital Marketing Analytics

Use Actionable Insights From Your Data to Make the Most of Your Marketing

WHY DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS MATTER IN MANUFACTURING

You are gathering more data than ever through your marketing activities. Don’t let the data be overwhelming. The numbers are telling you something. Being able to connect as many data points as possible helps identify what is working and what isn’t. The more you can identify where your revenue or successful outcomes come from, the more intelligently you can adjust your marketing mix.

62%
of marketers use a built-in marketing or CRM software for marketing reporting
-Hubspot
26%
of the manufacturers who have an analytics strategy say they are doing an excellent job of measuring their content marketing performance
-Content Marketing Institute
40%
of manufacturers say their marketing is not meeting their business objectives
-The Marketing in Manufacturing Survey Report 2022
WHAT DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS ARE
  • A path to identify which activities drive revenue
  • Documentation that reveals trends and opportunities
  • Data that will show you when people drop out of the funnel
  • Benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs)
WHAT DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS AREN’T
  • Tracking leads in a spreadsheet
  • Guesswork and assumptions about what is working
  • Clunky dashboards and reports that no one uses or shares
  • Vanity metrics like Facebook followers

HOW DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS WORK

Marketing analytics describes an approach to accurately measure key moments in the marketing and sales funnel, sort data so that it allows you to glean actionable insights, and improve your sales and marketing operations.


GET STARTED

“Digital marketing analytics” is a term that refers to a process of studying data derived from digital marketing activities to evaluate performance. The goal is to align the tracking of your marketing data to inform your business strategy. You will need to start with the right tools and measurements.

Next Steps

DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS STRATEGIES



Systems
Create the technology framework by connecting platforms
Reporting
Collect comparison metrics to monitor and understand performance
Insights & Analysis
Break down what happens with interactions throughout the industrial buying journey

DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS SYSTEMS

You do not want to be in a position of having 50 new sales leads and no idea how you got them or if they are any good. For many industrial marketers, the immediate goal is to source new leads and more easily determine their worth. With the right tools and measurements, you will be able to measure the ROI of your marketing efforts and the effectiveness of your marketing spend. With the proper foundations, your efforts become automatic, consistent and reliable.

TOOLS FOR COLLECTING DATA

Collecting data is more than a Google Analytics dashboard. Yes, you need a tool to track website performance, and there are many marketing analytics companies and tools to choose from. You also should be using tools such as Google Data Studio, Tableau, Excel, or a data warehouse to bring data from your advertising platforms and CRM into a central location. What to keep in mind:

  • Find a platform you are comfortable using
  • Free tools often work
  • Learn how to export raw data
  • Use UTMs, URLs, and tracking pixels

CRM IMPLEMENTATION

A Customer Relations Management (CRM) platform allows you to track communications with a customer. You have a record of what has been pitched, to whom, and when. It should store data such as how leads are progressing, as well as where they come from. It should reveal the key points in your process, and when people drop out or advance from consideration to intent. A CRM can help you track more effective KPIs or reduce a six-step process for qualifying a lead to three or four. Be sure to:

  • Define clear stages of the sales process
  • Adopt attribution models
  • Implement lead scoring
  • Train users to ensure uniform, clean data

CONNECTING PLATFORMS

In order to gain full-funnel visibility for your marketing activities, you must create a technology framework by connecting your tools and platforms. In essence, this is like breaking down silos among your staff. Once your website, marketing automation and advertising platforms are “speaking to each other,” you will be in a position to gain actionable insights from your marketing activities. Make certain you:

  • Implement proper tracking across all systems
  • Ensure CRM contacts have marketing attribution
  • Integrate ERP and inventory systems for financial visibility
  • Regularly audit your tech stack

REPORTING FOR DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS

Gathering your marketing data in one place is the first step toward creating a process for true insights. Compiling, organizing and comparing data will reveal the marketing performance of each activity. Think of digital marketing analytics as working behind the scenes to help tell the story of your success, tell you what isn’t working, and also reveal opportunities.

FOCUS ON RATIOS

A single number provides no context. A snapshot of several numbers from the same time gives you some perspective, but not nearly as much depth as a comparison of month-to-month numbers or year-over-year numbers, or a number in relation to a goal. Focusing on ratios enables you to identify trends, and it helps inform how to adjust your tactics. It’s great to calculate a customer acquisition cost. How does that relate to previous times or alternative approaches? You can get the most out of ratios by:

  • Using graphics to visualize data instead of tables
  • Building on existing data (i.e., lifetime customer value)
  • Considering benchmarks and industry standards
  • Looking for correlations

ATTRIBUTION

Your marketing funnel will never be perfect, but you should aspire to know which activities ultimately drive revenue. A large spike in website traffic may not drive leads, and some activities drive leads but few conversions. Don’t overlook indirect impacts. For example, a boost in digital marketing might lead to an increase in phone orders. Many CRM systems tie together multiple touchpoints, such as when a job applicant found you through one platform but did not fill out an application until later. Be sure your attribution models:

  • Consider all conversion points
  • Leverage contact forms
  • Include call tracking, when appropriate
  • Differentiate user touchpoints (e.g., awareness vs. intent to buy)

Return on Investment

Knowing which spend can drive attributable revenue is important for the long buying cycles in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The ROI of industrial marketing is not just about saving money and making money. It’s about knowing how your investments perform so you can be more strategic with your future marketing spend. The essentials for determining your ROI include:

  • Tracking the source of leads
  • A lead scoring system for quality
  • Tracking conversions

INSIGHTS DERIVED FROM DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS

Insights and analysis amount to using the numbers to tell a story about how you can most effectively attract prospects and convert them into customers.

TOP, MIDDLE AND BOTTOM OF FUNNEL

The elongated and non-linear nature of the industrial buying journey makes it essential for you to measure every touchpoint. By measuring what happens at each phase of the buying journey (education, awareness, consideration and evaluation), you will be able to gain insights into your overall marketing activities, such as:

  • Key qualifying touchpoints
  • How personas interact
  • Dropoff points
  • Key conversion points

TEST AND LEARN

With the proper tools and measurements in place, you will be in a better position to confidently recommend how to adjust the dials of your marketing tactics. You can turn up the volume on some while turning down others. As you refine the tactics, you begin to dial in what works best. This helps you show the true value of industrial marketing. Best practices include:

  • Agree to timelines before making adjustments
  • Look for anomalies and outliers
  • Start with simple A/B testing
  • Look to improve what already works

SHARE LEARNINGS ACROSS CHANNELS

The ongoing reports and recaps of your marketing activities represent opportunities to educate and influence stakeholders about the importance of your marketing activities. Learnings come in the form of direct and indirect impacts. Be sure to leverage these learnings with processes to:

  • Maintain and distribute regular reports
  • Train stakeholders on what to look for
  • Summarize insights with business goals in mind
  • Engage stakeholders in leveraging insights
strategy

BECOME A DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS LEADER

You can leverage data in your marketing and sales just as you can in your operations. Mastery of your marketing data can help drive tangible business results and position you for growth.


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Identify Needs

Determine which tools and platforms best fit your marketing operation.

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Research Solutions

Explore approaches, strategies and best practices that will meet the specific needs of your marketing.

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Find a Partner

Identify partners to support your analytics and insights goals and reach out to assess compatibility.

REQUEST A DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYTICS CONSULTATION

At INDUSTRIAL, we’ve worked with hundreds of industrial sales and marketing teams to move them from a “good old days'' mentality, when sales was more about trade shows, line cards and personal networks, to a modern, systematic approach to integrated marketing that relies on actionable insights derived from digital marketing analytics. Contact us today to learn how we can help you gain insights from your digital marketing analytics.