How data can boost corporate marketing

With the mission of delivering the expected results to earn the trust of the market, marketing directors have been incorporating new technologies and strategies into their arsenal to optimize processes and reduce costs.

Innovation shows the ability to (re)align sector inflection points according to current demands, to quickly adapt to changes aimed at increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Gartner predicts that by 2025, organizations using artificial intelligence throughout the marketing function will shift 75% of production team operations to more strategic activities.

It is expected that in a few years, industry leaders will capture the value of loyalty programs as an effective strategy to reward customers and collect critical data for personalizing and enhancing their experiences.

Amazon is one of the companies that most uses data-driven marketing to stay on top and win over legions of customers worldwide.

By cross-referencing consumer information, the e-commerce giant creates marketing strategies to anticipate the potential demand for certain products and prepares them in the warehouse, reducing delivery time.

To lower prices and win new brand followers, Amazon monitors competitors based on data collection and manages product demand and availability.

Driving sustainable growthDespite the accuracy of data-driven marketing strategies, a recent survey showed that only 5% of companies believe they make good use of data intelligence in their businesses. This means that most businesses miss out on opportunities by not making data-driven decisions.

When it comes to managing consumer data for activating a more qualified audience, the study shows that 43% of companies still cannot capture consumption patterns and habits through online communication and sales channels.

Understanding and earning customer loyalty is becoming an increasingly challenging task for companies, who resign themselves to 'spending money to make money.'

Last year, as Marketing Manager at CIAL Dun & Bradstreet in Brazil, I had the opportunity to test some hypotheses and validate theses. One of them was that basing initiatives on data boosts sales while optimizing costs.

In just 4 months, demand generation grew from residual to 30% of the company's total results. The results below show the sector's strategic evolution:

• CPL (cost per lead) under R$100, with 12% of all new leads turning into opportunities for the sales team.
• Prospecting 5.0, using data to eliminate cold calls.
• Organic growth on Instagram: content shown to 80% non-followers.
• Global LinkedIn with over 60% of followers originating from Brazil.
• Monthly newsletter with over 18% unique clicks.

Faster, data-driven responsesWhen asked if the best solution for marketing is to build an in-house team or hire an agency, my answer is: it depends on your budget, strategy, and the results you want to deliver.

With a small team, a few freelancers to meet specific demands, and technological tools that help with repetitive tasks, I highlight 5 actions we implemented at CIAL that are worth starting an operation with:

• Demand Generation - through creating a marketing funnel and ‘AlwaysOn’ campaigns - keeping ads always active at all brand touchpoints with the audience, ensuring a monthly volume of MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) to sustain the sales force.
• Content Marketing - usually, when starting an operation, it’s essential to educate the audience about concepts, products, and market specifics. Additionally, sharing knowledge on a particular topic demonstrates authority, ensures a good entry into communication channels, and removes objections that may arise when initiating digital strategies.
• PR - it's extremely difficult to make the brand known. Therefore, one of the most recommended and strategic paths is leadership articles: opinions from the company's top management published in portals that make sense for the company's market. This helps to build authority and trust in the company, facilitating access to larger clients.
• Video Production - in 2022, videos accounted for 82% of internet traffic, making it an indispensable format for those seeking to expand content reach. It's no coincidence that videos are the most shared materials on social media and can be sent via WhatsApp to the sales base. A cool hack is to use employees as ambassadors, promoting relevant topics. Nowadays, with just a phone, 2 light spots, and a white wall as a background, you can produce semi-professional videos that are already worth the investment in paid media on social networks.
• AI, like ChatGPT - can be an ally in content production, but despite speeding up research and providing great templates, personal and human touches are still necessary, especially in more in-depth texts. Good curation of information, revision, and validation of what is generated makes all the difference.

Eliminating noise to amplify impactWhile generative AI helps produce web content today, Gartner expects that by 2027, 80% of corporate marketing professionals will need to authenticate content to combat misinformation and fake material.

The advance in the scope and sophistication of misinformation has raised concerns among marketing leaders. Just as AI and other technologies contribute to the problem, they can also be part of the solution, especially when complemented by qualified teams that listen, engage, and scale brand interests throughout the digital content ecosystem.

After all, it's important not to forget that even with all the technological evolution, people still want to be treated as people, recognized, and have their needs met in a personalized way.

For this reason, I see marketing's primary role as creating strategies and resources that position the brand well in the market, aiming to attract and retain this increasingly demanding consumer.

Because today, this audience makes purchasing decisions that are less objective and predictable, and with the evolution of human habits and behaviors, the new consumer cares not only about the quality of the product or service but also the shopping experience and their identification with the brand.

Fortunately, technology has earned its place in corporate marketing strategies, and if, like me, you work as a leader in this constantly evolving sector, you know that this product of science and engineering, which involves a set of tools, is worth its weight. After all, I want and need to see further.

*By Douglas Dantas, Marketing Manager at CIAL Dun & Bradstreet