Advanced Marketing Analytics for Small Business

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, small business owners often find themselves juggling multiple hats, from managing social media pages to crafting email campaigns, in addition to their regular business responsibilities. While executing these essential strategies is crucial, understanding and harnessing the power of marketing analytics can take businesses to the next level of success. In this webinar, hosted by Accion Opportunity Fund and FedEx, experts delve into the realm of marketing analytics, providing insights and strategies to help small business owners optimize their marketing efforts and drive growth.

Meet the Experts

Divya Malige

Divya Malige leads a performance marketing analytics team at FedEx, supporting integrated marketing efforts. With over 10 years in marketing analytics, Divya has worn multiple hats supporting organizations improve on their products and marketing with loyalty analytics, profile builds, performance analytics, channel performance, personalization and journeys analytics . In addition to working in Marketing, Divya has spent 10 years working on credit cards and banking tech.

Divya’s leadership in go to market analytics has helped teams improve and optimize across their digital channels and improve efficiencies and marketing ROI . Divya has a Masters in Marketing Analytics from University of Texas at Dallas.

Desha Elliott

Desha Elliott has a successful track record of consulting on business development, strategic partnerships, and digital marketing for both growth stage and established companies. Her current role as Local Market Manager for Accion Opportunity Fund bridges community and corporate partnerships and resources to small businesses. In addition to working in finance, Desha spent ten years in media and tech.

Desha’s leadership in business development for early and growth stage businesses yielded opportunities for multinational expansion and brand partnerships. Her thought leadership and business advising impact has been highlighted in NerdWallet, Black Enterprise, NBC, CBS, and more.

Marketing Analytics for Small Business

Where Can You Find Marketing Analytics Data?

Understanding where to access marketing analytics data is the first step towards unlocking valuable insights into consumer behavior and campaign performance. Whether it’s utilizing built-in analytics tools on your website or leveraging platforms like Google Analytics for more detailed insights, small business owners have access to a wealth of data at their fingertips, at low or no cost, to inform their marketing strategies.

What key website metrics should small business owners be considering?

When it comes to website metrics, small business owners should focus on key indicators that provide insights into customer behavior and overall website performance.

Online Sales

• Online sales metrics provide insights into the revenue generated through digital channels.
• Understanding online sales performance helps identify successful marketing campaigns and optimize conversion funnels to drive revenue growth.

Acquisition Cost

• Acquisition cost metrics reveal the expenses incurred to acquire a new customer.
• By calculating the cost per acquisition, businesses can assess the efficiency of their marketing channels and allocate resources effectively to maximize ROI.

Customer Lifetime Value

• Customer lifetime value (CLV) represents the total revenue generated from a customer throughout their relationship with the business.
• Analyzing CLV helps businesses prioritize customer retention efforts, tailor marketing strategies to high-value customers, and maximize long-term profitability.

Churn Rate

• Churn rate measures the rate at which customers stop engaging with a business or unsubscribe from services.
• Monitoring churn rate helps businesses identify potential issues in product/service offerings or customer experiences, allowing for proactive retention strategies to mitigate customer attrition.

Abandonment Metrics

• Abandonment metrics track the frequency and reasons behind customers abandoning their carts or exiting the website without completing desired actions, like making a purchase.
• Analyzing abandonment metrics helps businesses identify pain points in the user experience, optimize checkout processes, and implement strategies to improve abandonment rates, ultimately improving conversion rates and revenue.

What metrics and analytic tools are available on Social Media?

It depends on the website, but all of the social media tools provide insights into audience engagement, reach, and performance. Here are some key metrics to look for on each of the following platforms:

Instagram

• Engagement rates
• Reach and impressions

Facebook

• Page likes and follows
• Post engagement metrics

LinkedIn

• Profile views
• Content engagement

X (Twitter)

• Tweet impressions
• Follower growth

What are some third party tools for Social Media Analytics?

In addition to built-in analytics tools, third-party platforms like Google Analytics, Buffer, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite offer comprehensive social media analytics capabilities. The best tools are the ones that group all of your social media platforms into one tool, so you can compare performance side-by-side in a dashboard. Many of the tools also allow you to add other team members to the platform as you grow your marketing team. These tools help you analyze all of your social media marketing techniques in one place. Here are the pros and cons of four popular tools for social media analytics:

Google Analytics

• Pros: Very powerful, industry-standard tool, providing deep insights into website and social media performance.
• Cons: Steep learning curve initially, requiring dedicated time for users to familiarize themselves with its features and functionalities.

Buffer

• Pros: Offers a free trial, allowing users to explore its features and gauge suitability without financial commitment.
• Cons: While user-friendly, Buffer still possesses a learning curve for those new to social media management platforms, necessitating some time investment for proficiency.

Sprout Social

• Pros: Provides the ability to conduct social listening, enabling businesses to monitor and analyze conversations across social media platforms for valuable insights.
• Cons: While it offers a free, 30-day trial, Sprout Social does not offer a free plan, and their most basic plan is quite expensive.

Hootsuite

• Pros: Facilitates the scheduling of social media posts, streamlining content management and ensuring consistent engagement with followers.
• Cons: Lacks a free trial option, potentially requiring users to commit financially before fully experiencing its features and assessing its suitability for their needs.

How can small business owners track the effectiveness of analog or traditional marketing tools?

Even in the digital age, analog marketing tools such as flyers and loyalty punch cards can still be effective marketing assets for small businesses. Tracking the effectiveness of these tools often isn’t as straight forward as looking at a website dashboard. The best way to track analog marketing tactics is by using unique coupon codes and directly asking customers about their interactions with analog marketing materials, either through surveys or when making a purchase.

How do you know when you are ready to hire a professional to help you manage your marketing and social media strategy?

As they say in the entertainment business, get a manager when there is something to manage. Determining when to enlist the help of a professional to manage marketing and social media strategy depends on various factors, including business growth stage and resource availability. Once a business achieves product-market fit and consistent sales, hiring a marketing manager or outsourcing marketing tasks may become necessary to scale effectively.

How do you set goals around your marketing analytics?

1. SMART Goals: Ensure your goals adhere to the SMART criteria – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. SMART goals provide a clear framework for goal setting and enhance the likelihood of successful outcomes.
2. Baseline Metrics: Establish a baseline by understanding your current metrics. For instance, if your aim is to increase website traffic by 20% in the next six months, knowing your current traffic levels is essential to set a realistic and achievable goal.
3. Historical Analysis: Review past campaigns to glean insights into their performance. Analyze metrics such as cost per customer to inform future strategies and refine your approach based on previous successes and failures.
4. Target Customer Engagement: Focus on engaging your target customer base and maximizing revenue per customer. Encourage potential customers to visit your website while nurturing existing ones through personalized emails and newsletters to foster long-term loyalty.
5. Identifying Key Drivers: Identify the key factors that can propel you toward your goal. Develop a clear strategy outlining the actions and initiatives required to achieve your objectives effectively.
6. Marketing Tactics: Determine the specific tactics needed to reach your goals. For instance, enhancing SEO efforts or increasing social media activity may be necessary to drive website traffic as part of your broader marketing strategy.
7. Budget Considerations: Carefully consider your budget allocation and expenditure. Determine how much you can afford to invest and allocate resources wisely, whether it involves hiring additional staff, implementing paid advertising campaigns, or other marketing initiatives aligned with your goals.

If you are just getting started, what is the best metric to focus on at first?

It can feel very overwhelming to get started with marketing analytics. There are so many tools and metrics and variations of metrics. For small business owners just getting started with marketing analytics, focusing on awareness metrics can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

Embracing marketing analytics is essential for small businesses looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. By leveraging data-driven insights and strategic analysis, small business owners can refine their marketing strategies, enhance customer engagement, and drive sustainable growth.

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