Marketing data collection is important in order to improve your marketing ROI. Marketing data fuels marketing and plays a critical role in the success of your business. Not only does it help you identify opportunities, but it can also provide insights into your customers that allow you to create marketing campaigns that are more personalized and relevant. Unfortunately, it's time-consuming to collect this data manually. Here, we'll outline three ways to automate the process of collecting marketing data for your business.

1. Use Google Analytics to Collect Site Data

Google Analytics allows you to collect website data, demographics, traffic sources, and more. It also allows you to visualize the information you collect. Collecting this data is simple, and it allows you to run an analysis on the data you collect. This analysis allows you to see how your marketing campaigns are performing and allows you to use the data to make changes to your marketing campaigns. You can even analyze multiple campaigns to see what the impact on sales and conversions can be for each campaign.

Once you install the Google Analytics code on your site, it collects the data automatically. Google Analytics is free to use, and you can gather a lot of information this way. You can even set up email alerts in order to be notified when specific events occur. The challenge with using Google Analytics alone is that you need to know what to look for, how to set up reports, and what to do with the information it generates. The key to using Google Analytics effectively is to research your website's data. What are the most important metrics? Where do you need to improve? How can you use it to optimize the performance of your site and increase conversions? What’s the process? To get started, sign up for a free Google Analytics account and read the documentation on how to use it. 

2. Set Up Reporting in Native Marketing Applications

Many marketing platforms, such as Hootsuite and Mail Chimp, collect data on your marketing efforts. Implementing reporting allows you to see how your marketing campaigns are performing. This includes data on engagement, open rates, and click-throughs. As you run your campaigns and track your results, you can then use that data to optimize future campaigns and increase performance. For example, if you notice that the lead magnets in the email campaigns aren't converting as well as other types of content, you can swap those lead magnets out for something else and run another campaign to see if the open rate changes.

The drawback of using the native reporting features in marketing software is that this method requires more time and effort to set up. In addition, you will need to learn how reporting functions work in order for them to be as effective as possible. This can be difficult as there are a lot of reporting options available from each application that can make understanding the results confusing.

There are also limited types of marketing data that you can collect in native programs. These programs are designed to perform the marketing function, not necessarily to track and gather the exact data you need to make the right marketing decisions for your business. In addition, these software programs may not be able to give you good, actionable interpretations of the data they do collect. 

3. Invest in a Paid, Premium Marketing Automation and Data Collection Tool

In order to get the most marketing data collection tools available, you should invest in a paid marketing automation platform. To get the most out of a paid marketing automation program, you'll need to set up reporting and analytics features. This will allow you to see how your campaigns are performing and allow you to optimize your campaigns, content structure, and call-to-action messages in order to get better results from your marketing efforts.

A well-paid marketing automation platform offers comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, but it also features advanced reporting options that will give you even more information on your website's performance. Paid marketing automation platforms are usually offered in different tiers of features. The higher the tier, the more features you get, but it also means that you will pay a higher price per month.

While paid marketing automation programs are more expensive than free data collection tools, they do offer comprehensive reporting and analytics so you can develop a deeper understanding of how your marketing campaigns are performing. This will allow you to make the most data-driven decisions and use the data to create more targeted marketing campaigns. Paid automation platforms also take care of much of the backend work so you can focus on your site and content. The key is finding a solution that fits your budget, fits your needs, and offers the reporting features that will give you actionable insights into how your marketing campaigns are performing.

Learn How to Automate Marketing Data Collection With Integrate.io

As a marketer, you need to know your audience and collect data about them. Marketing automation is a critical component of data-driven marketing. It is a way of collecting and leveraging customer data for better, more personalized marketing with less effort. Marketing data collection automation can reduce costs, increase sales, and improve customer satisfaction. Integrate.io can help automate your business’s data collection efforts. Contact us for a 14-day demo or pilot.