Big data: The secret to profitability

Although we now have more valuable data on consumers than ever before, only 12% of companies are putting these big data messages into use. Big data has become a hot word, but many marketing experts and salespeople still don't know how to deal with the information we can get.

At the same time, companies that use big data tend to deal with it in a messy way: The marketing department gets the data but doesn't know how to use it, and the sales department is always focused on small, concrete data, so it's easy to overload the information with such a huge amount of data.

Therefore, it is difficult for the two departments to share information and take the benefits.

Results of cooperation Mechanism optimization

Before we analyze how the sales and marketing departments are working with big data to help the company, let's take a look at how most companies actually do it.

The marketing department collects and manages data within different systems, one or two of which are valid (usually http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/8856.html "> CRM systems and Web Analytics Systems"). The sales department focuses on consumer diversion, but does not have time to analyze the data. The marketing department has a lot of hard data to use, and the sales department doesn't get enough useful information from the marketing department to push consumers to drain.

The fact is that it's good to spend some time dealing with that data. The reality shows that companies that use and analyze big data have a 5-6% increase in productivity and profitability than their peers. While digging up big data is a huge investment in time, it can reduce the amount of effort the marketing and sales departments are taking in the wrong direction and thus increase the final profit.

Interesting things happen when the sales department and the marketing department work together. They are beginning to better understand consumer behavior, which allows the two teams to perform better marketing campaigns and more targeted sales practices. They can develop targeted integrated marketing solutions based on where the consumer is in the purchase lifecycle. Of course, the two departments can also coordinate to increase sales.

where social and online activities fit

If your sales team doesn't focus on the consumer's online activities, it's obviously a waste of time. Let's take a Stephanie example, she works for a company that needs to provide solutions for cloud computing, and she is a decision maker.

A typical consumer in the consumer behavior path will have the following three steps:

The trigger step is that the consumer is aware of the problem and the solution.

The research steps refer to their active investigation and understanding.

The purchase step means that they have made a purchase decision and want to deal with the seller.

Trigger Step

The trigger step refers to what Stephanie saw or heard that aroused her interest in the solution. To help Stephanie enter this phase, the marketing department can provide the sales team with useful information that has caused other consumers to focus on cloud computing solutions. Then the sales team can share that information through the social network (the marketing department can do the same thing on a wider scale)

Examples of useful information in trigger steps:

Third party reports on trends in cloud computing

Blog Detailing success Stories

Articles discussing the benefits of cloud computing

Research steps

Once Stephanie was moved to start looking for a solution, she started the research step. If you collect data about Stephanie, you will see that she has clicked on several ads about cloud computing and visited those sites. She also searched for advice on Twitter to look for users of cloud software. She browsed through small business blogs and even downloaded an ebook titled "How To Choose the best cloud Platform for your business". She has loved the Facebook page of your software company and shared some of your content.

The key contribution the marketing department can make to the sales team is to help them provide Stephanie (and people like Stephanie) with some information to guide her through the investigation.

Examples of information in the research steps:

Third party articles on how your company has been increasing market share

Statement by the leader of the company speaking at the meeting

Information about how your solutions compete with competitors

Purchase step

When she was ready to buy, she started this step. At this time, Stephanie did not communicate with any of the sales staff to complete the consumer path of most of the content. She has done most of the work online by communicating with peers and analysts. When she is ready to buy, she also needs to prove or disprove her idea that your solution is appropriate for her.

The key contribution the marketing department can make to the sales team is to help them understand what Stephanie may be thinking about at this time and prepare for that conversation.

Examples of information in the purchase step:

Stephanie may be aware of negative views and counter examples of our solutions.

May slow down common misconceptions about her decisions and ways to ease those misunderstandings.

Positive information that the sales team should emphasize

The marketing department has data about consumers-sometimes even more than it knows to handle. In the face of big data, we need not be afraid. It just lets us learn how to process information, find out what information is most useful for marketing activities, and what information is most helpful to the sales department. By working closely with the sales department, the marketing department can effectively promote profitability.