Using data allows marketing agencies to better understand customer needs, personalize services, and deliver a more relevant experience. Using client information, the agency can:
- suggest specific products or services
- anticipate future requests
- increase the loyalty and overall satisfaction of your audience.
But what are the data in question? In the era of the GDPR, how to select, collect and store them? How to take advantage of it to optimize its efficiency and financial return?
At our last Agora Summit held on June 22, 2023, we addressed these various questions during a live interview with a data specialist.
Pierre Duverge is Marketing Manager for Growth at THE ADN DATE. This company offers a B2B SaaS prospecting platform based on algorithmic and human expertise. Its goal is to help sales and marketing professionals optimize their prospecting and thus increase their sales.
The live replay is available: “How to put data at the service of the agency and the client?”
What are the main benefits of using data in agencies?
Pierre: First of all it is important to specify that in an agency there is no unique and unambiguous definition of data. Everything will depend on the specialization of each structure.
For example, a creative agency will not have the same definition of data as an agency more focused on business strategy or events.
However, to help us in our reflection, it is possible to give a broad definition of this term. What we call data is all digital data that can be collected, analyzed and exploited.
Put this way, we quickly realize that data is important for the commercial, strategic and creative development of agencies and their clients.
What types of data do agencies tend to prioritize?
Pierre: As mentioned before, with data the answers are never set in stone. The only common denominator in this process is the need to act as a funnel.
For example, if an agency wants to do commercial prospecting, it will need to focus primarily on demographics :
- company creation date
- number of employees…
Then he will look into corporate signals AS :
- the agency’s media budget
- recent hires in strategic marketing or communication positions.
In a second stage, the strategy is refined and we must be interested in other information once contact is established. For example :
- the opening rate of prospecting emails
- the number of clicks
- website visits
- the percentage of modules completed…
For a creative agency the approach will be the same, but the useful data sought will be different. This type of agency is looking for data for its clients. He will be more interested in data such as:
- the digital habits of the target
- preferred routes of users
- the type of content consumed…
This information will serve as a basis for creatives to find insights and avenues for activation that can best reach their target audience.
What tools are essential for an agency to develop their data expertise?
Pierre: All the tools that will allow you to accurately collect and exploit data are useful. Of course I’m thinking about it an email locatorhas a powerful CRMbut also to tools like ADN DATA.
In addition to collecting data, we are able to process it (aggregation, standardization, cleaning, enrichment) and then validate it with human expertise. Raw data is useless if you don’t follow these steps.
The importance of data for agencies isn’t just a fad. Agencies that make this breakthrough as soon as possible will have a better chance of existing and thriving for years to come. Indeed, today the traditional RFP model is time consuming and costly for agencies.
While data prospecting isn’t “in the genes” of this industry, new agencies using this data are seeing increasingly promising results. It’s a real paradigm shift. At the moment, doing research without data is like blindly advancing in a labyrinth. It’s long and exhausting.
What are the best practices to avoid falling into the vanity metrics trap?
Pierre: Of course, if misused, data can be counterproductive. This is particularly the case of vanity metrics, these famous indicators which at first glance are reassuring because they can be easily detected and manipulated, but which ultimately are not very usable for companies.
The only best practice to keep in mind is the net results. When a business is looking for prospects, they might have a good open rate on emails, if the signatures don’t follow, it’s not of much interest.
When we prospect, it’s to generate business. The only metric that matters to me is the number of customers you sign up.
Depending on that, you have to go back through the process to see where it’s going wrong.
Why are sales struggling to close the deal? My mail open rate is good, but nothing happens. So is the body of my message impactful enough? You need to cross-check the data to find out where the bottom hurts and thus improve your prospecting.
Then, if the goal of a campaign is notoriety, the goal will be different, and the questions we will have to ask ourselves will also be different. Is my brand present enough in the minds of consumers? To find out, you need to do a market study before and after the campaign. in order to exploit the data that can answer this question.
Pierre: Data collection is only the first step. It must then be transformed, through various phases, then valorised thanks to human expertise.
The population as a whole is increasingly resistant to traditional advertising, especially among the younger generation. Agencies therefore have to find new ways to achieve goals during a campaign.
Mass advertising is no longer the order of the day, except in a few specific cases. We are now in an era of hyper personalization of communication messages. To achieve this “user-centric” strategy, good data collection and use is required.
For prospecting work, the same approach must now be taken. We have to start from the problems inherent in a business, then customize our approach to accurately reach our interlocutor.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important do you think data is to agency decision-making?
Pierre: Agencies make a paradoxical use of data. They are better at using the data for their customers than for themselves. As they say, it’s often the cobblers who have the worst shoes.
From my point of view I would say that data should score 10/10 in decision making. The world of communication is changing and agencies have never been under so much pressure.
The emergence of new consulting agencies is no coincidence. These structures upset a world of communication and marketing that has sometimes relied too much on its own results.
I speak to many experts in this field on a regular basis and they are unanimous. Knowing the specifics of your customer or potential customer is essential. This “user-centred” approach offers many possibilities, such as the “double” technique.
This approach allows for capitalize on their successes and know-how to identify mirror objectives. That is, targets with behaviors similar to those of our current customers. Using the data well in the agency will make you enter a virtuous circle.
In conclusion, I would like to offer this advice to agencies. With data you need to be able to move from opportunism to opportunity. This is the only way to adequately address this change, I mean, this technological revolution.
Pierre Duverge is available on LinkedIn.
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