Over the past year, we’ve received hundreds of emails and phone calls from commercial realtors hoping to interest us in our next office space. Every one of them mentions our lease that is “ending in 2024.” Seems like we are a prime target for them and a hot lead, since there’s a good chance we’ll be hunting for a new space soon. That’s smart marketing, because there’s clearly intent and interest. Except, is there? Because our lease doesn’t actually end in 2024. They’re a full year early.
So how does that happen? How do hundreds of realtors all have the wrong information? Well, it turns out someone made a typo in a system they are all using. So now we’re barraged with incoming sales calls, and those sales folks are wasting their time.
This isn’t a unique issue. Bad data leads to wasted marketing spends all the time. So should we not trust data? No, we’re not saying that. As the saying goes, there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Data is obviously incredibly valuable when it’s correct. We need data to target specific audiences and better understand where they are in the sales funnel. But, you need more than data. You have to think beyond a one-to-one conversation and make sure you’re maintaining a marketing presence that overcomes any shortcomings in your data.
Great creative can overcome bad data. An impression is exactly that: an opportunity to impress.
Here are three key ways to do this, and it’s important to do all three well.
- Creative
Great creative can sometimes overcome bad data. An impression is exactly that: an opportunity to impress. If you deliver a lackluster piece of creative to a poorly targeted audience, you’re compounding your mistake. In the case of the realtors, they didn’t have a chance to close a deal this time around, but they did have a chance to make an impression. A few did, for better and for worse. For some, their email made us look at them a bit and tuck their name away for later. On the other hand, some of them ensured we would never consider them. Every impression is an opportunity. Make sure your creative is excellent. Don’t cut corners, because you’re playing with your brand as well as the possibility of future sales and interest.
- Brand
Performance marketing and big data are critical parts of your marketing strategy, but if you focus too much on the engagement and intent metrics, you may lose sight of your brand. Retargeting can be a successful sales strategy, but if you only retarget, you stand to alienate that user as you become a creepy stalker. You need a clear image of who you are, what you stand for, and how you want your customer to view you, and that doesn’t happen by strictly retargeting users. When you focus solely on data, you miss the nuance of brand. While that may lead to short-term growth, you’re making your job more difficult in the long term. Read the data, make your optimizations and fine tune your targeting, but don’t make short-term decisions that weaken how the customer views your brand.
- Persistence
This is not as straightforward as it may sound. Look, no one wants to receive an email from you or your company every day. It’s a thin line between persistence and nuisance, and you can’t build relationships by retargeting customers to death. Persistence means you need to keep the marketing engine going. You need consistency with your message, your brand, and your presence. Don’t come in and out of the market. Don’t only target customers and potential customers because they visited your site or clicked on an ad once accidentally. Accidental clicks create bad data and wasted ad spend. But that’s okay if you’re not solely relying on that type of data. Developing a marketing mix helps you maintain a consistent presence with your target audience. Capture attention with your creative. Spark interest before the person even knows they are interested. You need to be smart, strategic, and persistent.
And there you go: three important ideas to help you build your brand and drive performance in spite of any bad data you may receive. If you make sure you’re doing these three things, you can experience immediate success and sustainable growth. Your brand won’t completely rely on ad dollars to grow, but will have recurring customers, which in turn decreases your cost of sales and increases profit. It doesn’t get any better than that.
If you’re looking for creative services that drive sustainable growth by increasing sales and building your brand, look no further than TVGla. We have done this for years for some of the biggest brands out there and we know how to make your business thrive.