Savvy CMOs are translating data expertise into business intelligence, impacting the whole marketing team, the wider business and the CMO’s role.
Marketing has always used data. But a move to digital platforms has increased the data collected and how this information is used, changing marketing’s place in the business. Rebecca Malzacher is the General Manager, Marketing for the Australasia region at International SOS, a medical and travel security services firm. Data forms the heart of the company’s decisions and helps its small marketing operation understand business goals, the markets in which the business operates and product penetration. “Data really helps us to understand where we’re going to focus next, whether that’s through market-mapping exercises, database reviews or looking at previous campaign performances,” Malzacher says. “We’ll focus our campaigns and activity where they will have the best impact on the company’s objectives. That’s whether it’s a financial or a service-level related initiative.”Using data for insights
International SOS uses and integrates Eloqua, Salesforce, Google Analytics, AdWords and Adroll to collate and track data. The business also has internal analytical support to ensure the marketing team understands the information it collects. The most basic way the marketing team uses the information is to track leads and build buyer journeys. “We look at response rates across our channels on a weekly basis, and then we adjust our campaign activities and budget,” Malzacher says. “We look at the messaging. We change resources if things are really not working and we’re not reaching our target.” This data can turn marketing into the hub of business intelligence. The work can help identify, develop and create new strategic opportunities.
International SOS’s Rebecca Malzacher
Building credibility through collaboration
Being able to provide business insights has the bonus of demonstrating marketing’s value to possible naysayers outside of the department. International SOS needs to engage with medical and security experts with diverse professional backgrounds. Data, Malzacher says, is key to getting them on the same page. “To get all those individuals engaged and aligned in a project, you really need to be able to build a pretty strong business case,” she says. “That comes from marketing’s ability to take the data, interpret it, and also utilise storytelling techniques to show how medical and security experts can lead change with their expertise and insight.”“When marketing leads with insight, and if it’s actionable and produces a positive outcome for the business, then the true value of marketing is realised.”In particular, International SOS has used data to build the important (but sometimes fraught) relationship between marketing and sales. Malzacher’s team uses marketing dashboards that look at metrics, including email click-through and open rates. The executive level has more comprehensive dashboards that look at ROI and effectiveness across all campaigns. There are also sales dashboards that show the funnel and handover process, helping to join critical departments at the hip. “Data supports handing over those marketing qualified leads and tracking them through to the sales team, and then ultimately to opportunity value,” she says. From marketing’s perspective, the sharing of data has built stronger partnerships throughout the business. “I think it’s a shift in perception,” Malzacher says. “If you’re leading with business intelligence or insight then you’ve got something stronger and more tangible for a business to understand.”