The importance of data-driven marketing cannot be overstated in the staffing industry. While marketing will always be deep-rooted in creativity and brand stewardship, turning piles of data into actionable insights is key to better decision-making. Data collection gives valuable insights into where your efforts are working and helps you improve campaigns to optimize success.
The key to data-driven marketing isn’t just data, though—it’s using the right data and understanding what it means, and leveraging data-driven ideas for improvements. This guide will show you further how to create a data-driven marketing team that collects the appropriate information, uses it effectively, and puts your staffing agency on the path to success.
Why Have a Data-Driven Marketing Team?
A data-driven marketing team collects, measures, and analyzes data, then uses that data to optimize performance. For any organization, having a team with a good grasp of metrics and data analytics is key to assessing the success of marketing efforts on all fronts. Data is essential for growth since it improves all kinds of marketing decisions, such as:
- Shaping strategy
- Directing campaign development
- Selecting and optimizing channels
- Crystalizing resounding messages
- Producing engaging content
- Illuminating the candidate journey from engagement to placement
Ultimately, a data-driven marketing team helps your staffing agency achieve its SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) goals to keep your team ahead of the curve in the ever-competitive staffing industry.
How to Create a Data-Driven Marketing Team for Your Staffing Agency
Deciding to take a data-driven approach to your marketing initiatives is only the first step. To help you get things up and running, here are some tips on how to cultivate a data-driven marketing team:
- Get Comfortable with Numbers
Data analytics is a numbers game. As the famous saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. There are many tools available to help you manage data, such as Excel and Google Sheets. However, it’s always a good idea to brush up on your team’s skills with a short primer on what marketing metrics you want to measure, what they mean, and how to get them.
Mainly, you want your marketing team to be able to review these numbers in any given timeframe and make sense of them. So, make sure they are equipped with how to navigate sheets and statistics, as both are invaluable when it comes to data analysis.
- Put It in the Job Description
Set expectations upfront to have the best people on your team to drive your data-driven marketing efforts. By including it in your job posts, you get to emphasize how important data is in your department. Additionally, during interviews, ask candidates what they’ve done with data before and how they would use it at your company. Remember, you want them to be able to move from using spreadsheets to using more advanced analytics tools and thinking about data more strategically.
- Utilize Data on Every Marketing Initiative
Everything can be measured. There’s even a book about it! So, try to incorporate data and apply a metric to every marketing initiative you do. Doing this will give you a sense of consistency and also get everyone on the team used to how data-driven marketing works. It also keeps you focused. Plus, it can act as an alarm system should any part of your strategy start to have cracks.
Using data on every marketing initiative will ensure that every initiative truly resonates with your audience and drives results. Whether you’re launching content on social media, email campaigns, or paid ads, understanding what is working and what isn’t will help you make smarter decisions in your marketing strategy.
- Create a Dashboard
Because we’re all visual people, a dashboard is an excellent way to get started with data visualization. It helps you focus on key metrics and understand how other things impact your campaign. Usually, a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet cannot relay the impact of a metric going up or down, but a chart or any visual representation can.
A dashboard gives your team timeframe-reliant feedback on how things are progressing. You can use one that is specifically designed for analytics and marketing, such as HubSpot or Geckoboard.
- Use the Data You Acquire to Make Decisions
According to an article published on LinkedIn, you can’t rely on your Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (HiPPO) forever because even though they might be the best and brightest, they’re proven to be fallible.
To develop a genuine data-driven team, base your decisions instead of relying on HiPPOs. Leverage A/B testing to experiment with how different variables affect things such as conversion and engagement. Let data guide your next steps to make sure you’re continuously keeping an eye on what matters.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Tweak a landing page and see if conversions will change. Look at the process as a cycle, not a linear path. Trial and error can help you calibrate initiatives for the better. Launch a campaign, measure its success, analyze the data, iterate, rinse, and repeat.
- Bring In Additional Help if Needed
Analytics can get really complex if you’re not well-versed in it, so having a person that has a good handle on data can exponentially increase your chance for success. This might mean a number of things. First, you may want to consider onboarding an analytics expert. Second, you can also consider training your current team. Allow time off for them to attend conferences, training, webinars, or courses. Have sessions at work and get everyone on the same page.
Start Building Your Data-Driven Marketing Team
A data-driven mindset requires you to cast all your biases aside and act on information instead of a gut feeling. Creating a data-driven marketing team requires an approach that looks at where you have been and where you want to go. If you consider what your agency has done in the past, how it’s grown, who your target market is, and how much revenue you’re driving—you’ll find it easier to see how close you are to where you want to be.
Adobe advises us to create a culture of analytics. Keep your eye on your goals, and remember that creating a data-driven team is just the starting line. Your staffing agency’s success rests on how well you utilize the data you obtain and translate it into your current marketing workflows.
NEED A DATA-DRIVEN TEAM? ALLIED INSIGHT CAN HELP!
If you’re thinking of creating data-driven marketing strategies at your staffing agency and need any help, contact us! We’ll be more than happy to jump on a call and see what customized solutions we can create for you and your marketing needs.
Allied Insight is a fractional CMO and growth marketing company specializing in leveraging the best practices of recruitment marketing, inbound marketing, SEO, lead generation, account-based marketing, and sales enablement.
We understand the importance of keeping up to speed with key industry trends and obtaining valuable insights to improve your business process while scaling your business. For additional resources about data-driven marketing and how it can help your staffing agency, visit us at alliedinsight.com.
