🤫 Confessions of a data-driven agency

Hey 👋

Welcome to Neighbourhood Post issue #41 - easy to implement digital marketing ideas straight through your metaphorical letterbox.

And if you love a metaphor, you’re going to love this.

If you love metaphors, cars and the sea… boy oh boy are you in for a treat! 🚗 🌊

Anyway - let’s get on with it, as I enter the confession booth.

👉 By the way, if you’ve missed previous newsletters you’ll find them here.

📩 And if you’ve been forwarded this email you can subscribe here.

Data take the wheel? 💥🚗

This is the riskiest newsletter I’ve ever sent you.

It has a high chance of being misunderstood, but I can’t keep it in anymore:

We are not data-driven.

Our decisions aren’t data-driven, our processes aren’t data-driven and our strategies aren’t data-driven.

Our internal meetings aren’t data driven.

Our lunchtime meal deal selections aren’t data driven.

And I’m having an existential crisis.

In 2008 every digital agency met at a world summit and agreed their websites must include the phrase “data-driven”. When we joined the World Wide Society of Agencies in 2021, we signed a contract (at gunpoint) saying we’d do the same.

But increasingly I’ve been wrestling with something we all struggle with:

Not all that is meaningful is measurable and not all that is measurable is meaningful.

As marketers, turning data into insights is the most challenging part of the job.

We’re can often drown in a sea of metrics, confusing what’s meaningful as the waves of numbers crash over us.

But how did we get here?

I feel like there was a golden period where we had just enough data to do the job well.

However our pursuit of ROI has us scrutinising such tiny, granular things that we’re being misled about what’s working and what’s not.

The areas with the most measurable ROI are usually short term activities. When we apply the same method of analysis to longer term activities, such as brand awareness and community building, the short term will always win.

When our decisions are solely data-driven it skews our definition of success.

Now here comes the caveat (and cheesy metaphor) you’ve been waiting for:

We pay attention to data, but we don’t let it do the driving.

In the data-driven analogy, what does it look for us?

Well, firstly we’re doing the driving.

Data is the backseat driver. We can listen to it or we can ignore it. It’s more unhelpful than it is helpful, but every now and then it stops us from taking a wrong turn.

Let’s go whole hog; the sat nav is customer feedback, the engine is the strategy, the steering wheel is the brand. We’re going to get to our destination together, but the backseat driver is in the backseat for a reason.

Sorry, got carried away there. 🚗

Anyway, if like me you want to escape the flood of data, here’s a life jacket…

#1 - Speak to your people

If you look at historical data analysis there were two components; quantitive and qualitative.

Quantitative analysis has scaled at a significantly faster pace than qualitative.

We’ve forgotten the power of depth. Of narrative. Of nuance.

When was the last time you spoke to your customers? Don’t overthink it. Email them two questions:

1) On a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to recommend us to a friend?

2) In a few sentences, why did you choose that number?

Question one satisfies your line manager’s thirst for data, question two is where the magic happens. Build a narrative that informs your strategy, messaging and marketing.

#2 - Try the rule of 2

Reach. Views. Likes. Shares. Comments. Conversions. Clicks.

Engagement rates. Click through rates. Conversion rates.

Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. TikTok.

It’s too much.

Focus on only two metrics per quarter. E.g. Instagram reach and email sign ups. Create a plan to increase both - measure it every month and see where you get. Switch it up for the next quarter.

#3 - Be comfortable not knowing

It’s challenging, and involves a lot of managing upwards.

Focus on the bigger picture and don’t worry too much about the efficiency of your marketing spend. If the bigger picture is heading in the right direction, don’t upset the applecart by getting too granular.

Don’t ditch data completely, but try the rule of 2 and prove to your organisation that when you focus in on a particular area and combine qualitative and quantitative analysis you can really move the needle.

OK that’s it.

Do you think less of me now?

Hopefully not.

Anyway, see you next week - I’m off to check the %OR, %CTR, traffic, time-on-site, engaged users, bounce rate and %CVR and ROI of this edition of the newsletter.

✌️

Before you go - we’ll never use these newsletters to directly sell you our services, but we’re always here if you need any expertise or support 👍