What Does it Mean to be a Data-Driven Marketer?

If you’re in marketing, you’ve heard it before. We need to be data-driven. But what does that actually mean? And how do you know what data actually matters? With dwindling budgets and an increase in digital advertising, marketers have to use data to make sure they are reaching their target audiences and justify their budgets.

Data-driven marketing allows marketers and companies to optimize their strategies to reach the right customers at the right times — when done correctly.

And what is that data being used? Customer data and platform analytics.

What Does Being a Data-Driven Marketer Mean?

Data-driven marketers study what customers buy, how they react to ads and how they behave on their websites and social media accounts. This customer data gives marketers insight into who they should target, how they should target them and when. It’s the who, what, when and where of marketing.

“It means questioning assumptions like ‘we have always done it this way’ and solving problems through insightful data and creativity. Data-driven marketers must be able to demonstrate their efforts produce results and effectively use resources to solve complex challenges.” Josh Wilson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Whitefish Credit Union and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

There is a lot of data available, with a lot of tools making even more available. Marketers gain valuable insights into customer’s needs, desires and behaviors, improving ROI and improving performance.

“Being a data-driven marketer means you possess the skills necessary to sift through the data noise and achieve a path to solid marketing strategy that can get results. Data is useless if its meaning is misunderstood. That’s why the Data Marketing Communications program is so important to my future career goals.” — Kelly Greathouse, Lead, International Communications, GNC and M.S. Data Marketing Communications current student

Now, don’t panic if you don’t like math. Being data-driven doesn’t mean you’re studying business analytics or data science. You’re using the data available to pull valuable insights out to apply to marketing campaigns. No statistics are needed here.

“I’m not sure how one can be an effective marketer today without being data-driven. Data helps identify our challenges and opportunities, prioritize our activities, justify resources and measure impact. Without data it is impossible to make informed decisions.” — Dan Dipiazzo, Chief Marketing + Experience Officer at Georgia Aquarium and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

How Does Data and Creativity Work Together?

Just because you’re using data doesn’t mean creativity is thrown out the window. Data can inform the creative and inform the messaging.

“I think there’s a misnomer that data and creativity are somehow contradictory. In fact, I have found that data helps sharpen my creativity. First, data helps define problems that we attempt to solve with creative messaging. Then, on the flip side, we can test the effectiveness of our creative executions with research and data analysis, to ensure our campaigns really resonate.” Dan Dipiazzo, Chief Marketing + Experience Officer at Georgia Aquarium and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

Data can be incorporated into creativity by using the insights to tell the right story to the right customer. You don’t have to be a numbers person and you don’t have to only be creative to be data-driven.

“Creativity is a necessary component of the Data Marketing Communications process. Creativity allows a marketer to tell the story behind the numbers. Without the story, stats are just numbers on a page. The story makes the marketing strategy come to life.” — Kelly Greathouse, Lead, International Communications, GNC and M.S. Data Marketing Communications current student

Being data-driven means you learn how to interpret data to customize both the message and the audience. So, you want to personalize messaging? Then you need to combine data and creativity.

“It’s important to remember that producing creative work is a process that can be improved upon, and this process is driven by data. The creative concepts that have led to the most successful campaigns start with knowing our target audience, our message, and our goals. We build creative campaigns to reach this audience and meet our objectives, and then we test the creative concept, typically with a smaller market or audience. We use the results from this test to refine the concept and then go to a larger audience. Within the campaign, we develop creatives that are personalized for the recipient or audience based on the data we collect.” — Josh Wilson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Whitefish Credit Union and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

Understanding customer data means you can get the right message to the right person at the right time. Creativity and data go together to make this happen. Today’s consumer expects messaging that is authentic and tailored to them, when they need it most.

“When I was completing my IMC Capstone at WVU, I told my professor that I was nervous about doing the final case which required developing a campaign for a client. I had to develop a brand and do all of the creative. My initial reaction was "I am not creative, I am a data geek". But my professor reminded me that Einstein said "Creativity is intelligence having fun." I love that quote because data brings us more insights and adds to our intelligence, and that leads to being more creative!”— Cyndi Greenglass, President, Livingston Strategies, M.S. Data Marketing Communications instructor, M.S. IMC alumna

What is Data Marketing Communications?

In today’s world, everything is data. Data Marketing Communications is taking a wealth of data and working to find the metric that matters - the metric that tells the story. Data Marketing Communications is designed for storytellers, creatives, strategists and problem-solvers alike. Data is at the heart of the marketing communications industry and having the ability to be a data-driven storyteller is a highly sought-after skill set at any level.

According to some of the WVU M.S. Data Marketing Communications practitioner faculty:

“Data Marketing Communications is the ability to turn raw data into meaningful knowledge that leads to better decision-making. Data by itself has no meaning, and raw data does not inform. But it becomes magical when placed into the hands of a communications professional. Then the data become vastly powerful and meaningful.” Cyndi Greenglass, President, Livingston Strategies, M.S. Data Marketing Communications instructor, M.S. IMC alumna

“Data Marketing Communications is leveraging quantitative and qualitative data to effectively communicate to a targeted audience. It could be best summarized as the right message, to the right person, at the right time.” — Josh Wilson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Whitefish Credit Union and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

“Data marketing communications elevates the practice of marketing communications by using data to inform, optimize and measure tactics for maximum impact.” — Dan Dipiazzo, Chief Marketing + Experience Officer at Georgia Aquarium and M.S. Data Marketing Communications alumnus and instructor

Data Marketing Communicators fill the talent gap between traditional marketing and data analytics. You understand how to analyze data to inform your marketing strategies and creatives.

Data Marketing is an emerging discipline that analyzes data — from social media, websites, digital advertising and other sources — to provide professional communicators with key insights to develop and refine marketing communications activities. In other words, the Data program equips marketing communication professionals with the skills to interpret data in order to drive messaging, assess metrics, measure productivity, increase return on investment and develop integrated marketing strategies.

Examples of Data-Driven Campaigns

Josh Wilson is an award-winning marketing professional with more than 10 years of experience in financial institutions and government. He is passionate about combining data-driven marketing strategies with authentic content to provide measurable success. He currently serves as Vice President of Marketing for Whitefish Credit Union, the largest credit union in Montana.

Josh's recent campaign for Whitefish Credit Union focused on storytelling. In this anti-testimonial approach, his team shared the stories of credit union members. "The story is not necessarily about the business or the brand. Stories are about the people who are impacted by the brand."

Dan Dipiazzo has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and communications. He currently serves as chief marketing officer for Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere and the No. 1 ticketed attraction in Georgia. As CMO, he leads all aspects of marketing, sales and membership. Dan has spent 16 years in marketing leadership positions for SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, leading marketing strategy and planning, loyalty and direct marketing, digital marketing and in-park retail marketing.

Dan recently worked on the campaign, More Fun to Share, for the Georgia Aquarium. Watch as he describes how analyzing customer data and social listening led to a campaign that encouraged guests to experience the whole Georgia Aquarium again and again.

Why You Should Understand Data

Overall, understanding data leads to better attribution, spending optimization and proven return on investment (ROI). Did you know, according to Infosys, 74 percent of consumers feel frustrated when seeing irrelevant ads? Additionally, according to Marketo, 79% of them won’t consider an offer unless a brand personizes it to their previous interactions.

You should consider understanding data to:

• Personalize the customer’s experience.
• Target the right audience for your brand.
• Find the right platforms to focus your time.
• Justify your ROI.

It’s all about proving value to customers and enhancing their experience.

WVU’s M.S. in Data Marketing Communications

If your passion for marketing is driving you to understand the data behind it, WVU's M.S. in Data Marketing Communications is for you. Online shopping, digital advertising, social media metrics, web analytics, customer relations management platforms, website user statistics — the data available to marketers to better understand audience habits and motivations is growing daily. Ready to be CMO? Pair your already-existing marketing creativity with sharpened analytical skills and an understanding of technology-driven media.

Here are a few key courses in the program

• Audience Segmentation. Explore demographic data and other key indicators that can inform successful campaigns, and which data best serve the development of unique market segments to support specific marketing communication goals.
• Brand Data Collection and Visualization. Examine the benefits of mining your own brand data for insights that could influence marketing communications decisions with an emphasis on how that data can be presented visually to key stakeholders.
• Campaign Metrics and Assessment. Explore how data informs key performance indicators that define a campaign’s success. Students examine how metrics can rely on data for maximum benefit and survey available metrics and assessment platforms.
• Message Customization. Examines how data enables marketing communicators to customize messages to target audiences as small as a single consumer. Students will examine how to motivate consumers by providing brand communications that are relevant, timely and personal.

You won’t find a program like this anywhere else. The marketing communications industry demands smarter insights and better results across a variety of media. We worked with data marketing experts to create the nation’s first online master’s degree explicitly focused on the strategic use of data in marketing communications. Request more information.

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