As we continue to look at Digital Marketing Trends of 2015 we focus on new data collaborations — that is, how “hard data” will no longer rule the roost. It’s going to be a year of collaboration and teamwork. Hard and soft data, big and small data, quantitative and qualitative… no matter how you look at it, marketers must use both to find digital marketing success in 2015.
Hard and Soft Data
Let’s start by differentiating between the two. Hard data is quantitative in nature, meaning that it can be precisely measured. It’s usually collected on a large scale, which allows us to quantify and organize the data we collect. With hard data insights, I know that 60% of my customer base is female, 32% is Hispanic, and that 10% make $200,000+ each year, etc. Hard data tells me that 40% of my web traffic is coming from a single blog post. Or that 72% of my online customers are finding me through social media.
On the other hand, soft data (or qualitative data) is descriptive, intangible, and hard to measure. It also goes much deeper than hard data. Soft data is often gathered from interviews, observations or from spending time with people. While hard data tells me that 60% of my customer base is female, soft data focuses on just a few of my female customers in an effort to understand: How do they use technology throughout the day? What are their perceptions of my brand? Who do they trust most for product recommendations? If hard data tells me that one of my blog posts is driving 40% of my web traffic, soft data tells me why that blog is effective.
Nail Your Value Prop
Traditionally, marketing and advertising have been a hard-data world. Recently, however, there’s an increasing awareness for the value of soft data for reasons I hope my above examples have made clear. Without soft data insights, we’ll never really know our customers or our target audience. We’ll never know what’s important to them, what they do on the weekends, or what keeps them up at night. Why do these things matter?
Because without this soft data insights, we don’t truly know our value proposition. We don’t know what problems we’re trying to solve for our target audience. We don’t know the best way to appeal or intercept them — what kind of technology, what message?
Cue Personas…
Last post we talked about brand advocacy — that is, when customers voluntarily and excitedly recommend your brand to others (a.k.a. the marketing mecca). To get there, you have to know what makes your customers tick.
One way to do this is through personas. A persona is a semi-fictional character you create that epitomizes your customer. It captures their demographics, behaviors, and motivations. Not only does it summarize your target market, but it gives you ‘someone’ tangible to market to. A persona starts with hard data, then adds the soft data insights.
Role Play: Luxury Apartment
Let’s pretend I’m the marketing coordinator for a luxury apartment complex in Uptown Dallas. I’m trying to determine how to attract more young professionals, so I hold a small focus group with a few of our current residents. I ask them questions that aim to understand the “why.” Why did they choose this apartment? Why did they renew their lease? What’s the value of living here for them?
I emerge with a few character profiles that read something like this…
Chris is 28 years old, single, and living in a one-bedroom apartment in Uptown Dallas. He’s originally from Chicago, but he stayed in Dallas after college for a job opportunity.
By day, he’s a financial analyst; however, every evening, you can find him at the CrossFit gym. He enjoys the camaraderie of CrossFit, and he frequents The Pickled Sub, a sandwich shop two blocks east. He always knew he wanted to live in Uptown, where he can walk to nearby grocery stores and restaurants.
His life revolves around Champ, his active three-year-old dog, who he likes to take out for runs. At his current location, the Katy Trail is 100 yards out the back door and the dog groomer is two blocks north. His dog sheds, yet he’s found these hardwood floors easier to keep clean than the carpet in his previous apartment. He’s gotten to know fellow pet owners throughout the apartment complex, with whom he enjoys the small talk that surrounds pet-owner responsibilities.
BOOM. I just got the angle for my new marketing materials. Remember that Chris doesn’t actually exist. This persona was created from several conversations I had with my residents. Hard data told me that 34% of my residents were single, male, pet owners. Soft data tells me why they live there, and how I can continue to attract them. A persona gives me someone tangible to market to.
It’s teamwork, you see, between hard and soft data, big and small, quantitative and qualitative. We’ll see a lot more collaboration this year. Why? Because it produces killer insights.
