You’re looking to make data-driven decisions. What analytics tools should you be using?

For making data-driven decisions, I recommend utilizing web analytics tools like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. They offer valuable insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and campaign performance, empowering you to optimize strategies for maximum ROI.

Google Analytics: Track website traffic and user interactions. Tableau: Create interactive data visualizations and dashboards. Microsoft Power BI: Integrate and analyze data from various sources. SQL: Extract and analyze database information effectively. Python/R: Perform advanced statistical modeling and data analysis. Adobe Analytics: Gain insights into digital marketing performance. Mixpanel: Monitor user engagement on web and mobile platforms. Looker: Explore real-time data and generate reports. SAS: Conduct sophisticated multivariate and predictive analytics. HubSpot: Analyze CRM, sales, and marketing data comprehensively.

Sifting through the sea of analytic SaaS can be intimidating. I started by understanding my leadership's pain points and learned to anticipate questions from them so I could be ready with the answers. The data can be (and is) endless but you gotta start somewhere and find those little wins.

Google Analytics: Essential for website traffic analysis and user behavior insights. Tableau: Powerful for creating interactive, visual data reports and dashboards. Microsoft Power BI: Great for integrating data from various sources for comprehensive insights. SQL: Useful for querying databases to extract specific data sets. R or Python: Ideal for more advanced data analysis and predictive analytics. Adobe Analytics: Offers deep insights into customer paths and conversion metrics. Mixpanel: Excellent for mobile and web interaction analytics. Looker: Enables real-time analytics with robust data exploration tools. HubSpot: Integrates marketing, sales, and customer service data for a full funnel view. Salesforce Analytics

Marketing Automation tools/platforms offer robust analytics capabilities, allowing me to track campaign performance, customer behavior, and ROI across multiple channels. With insights from these tools, I can optimize strategies and drive better results.

How you integrate your data is far more important that which specific tools you use. One of the biggest issues today (especially at large companies) is the lack of systems integration and data connectivity. Only by having a full view of your data (that might include data from Marketing, CRM, Finance, Product, etc.) are you able to make clear and educated decisions. Integrating these systems is not always easy though - different systems may have different record types, different unique identifiers, different fields, and different points of access (i.e., cloud vs on-prem). Working with Technology/IT to overcome connectivity issues while digging into the data structures is becoming an increasingly valuable skill for Marketing Ops leaders.

Data integration tools are crucial for connecting and consolidating data from diverse platforms and systems. They ensure data consistency, accuracy, and completeness while facilitating transformation for enhanced usability and value. Common tools like Zapier, Stitch, and Fivetran streamline data integration, enabling organizations to harness insights effectively across their ecosystem.

Data governance tools are essential for defining and enforcing data policies and standards. They ensure data security, compliance, and ethics while monitoring quality, usage, and access. Common tools like Collibra, Alation, and Informatica facilitate effective data governance, safeguarding data integrity and promoting responsible data management.

To make data-driven decisions in marketing operations, you should consider using a combination of analytics tools that provide comprehensive insights into various aspects of your marketing activities.

An area to consider is the changing landscape of data privacy. Be mindful of user privacy when collecting and analysing data, as well as the laws that govern privacy in your country. Also, be aware of changes in the way data is shared on the internet; cookies, tracking, and other third-party data collection tools are evolving, meaning you will need to adapt how you gather data in the future.