You’ve heard us say before that one of the best predictors for future success is past performance. Us marketers are trained to look for past successes and find ways to duplicate the most effective elements of those moments. Now, we can use predictive marketing analytics to do this better, faster, and more effectively.
Here is our user’s guide to predictive marketing analytics to help get you started.
Use case 1: Predictive analytics help model behavior
Predictive analytics tracks how often certain phrases or behaviors occur before a desired outcome. It then uses that information to gauge the likelihood other prospects will behave the same way. For example, if the majority of people searching online for the terms “puppies for sale” also buy dog food within two months of this search, serving them coupon for dog food during that window might increase their likelihood of choosing your brand. Predictive marketing analytics helps identify behaviors that precede sales so you can build a marketing strategy around them.
Predictive analytics can also help you find “look alike targets.” Look alike targets are people who are interacting with brands closely aligned to yours. Therefore, they may be interested in your products. People who buy dog food might also be interested in dog togs, bedding, or treats. Predictive analytics can help you determine the likelihood these people will buy or what their value may be.
Use case 2: Use predictive analytics to guide automated marketing
Automated marketing is an emerging tool that uses data to optimize the exact timing, targeting criteria, spend, and reach of a digital ad before deploying it. The goal is to maximize your return on investment without needing to use a lot of manpower and resources to do the job. Automated marketing can be a great tool to get more bang for your digital marketing buck. Predictive analytics is the foundation of this technology as it helps define the variables used to optimize automated marketing. Our team can help you balance automated marketing against your other channels and strategies effectively and easily. Click here or give us a call to find out more about how we can help.
Use case 3: Nurture cross-sell opportunities with predictive analytics
Using predictive analytics to determine which customers are most likely to need additional products or services your organization offers can help you target those critical few at the right time and increase the likelihood of a new sale. A customer with two or more of your products is then more likely to stay with your company. They’ll engage with your brand over their customer lifecycle.
Use case 4: Predictive analytics is not just for marketing
This data can also be used to streamline your company’s operations. That means lower costs and more marketing dollars … right?
Predictive analytics can help you forecast how many sales will occur in a quarter due to seasonality, or the influx of demand that guides your inventory. It can even help determine how much staff or resources you’ll need during peak sales times. This is true in almost every industry from tourism and hospitality, financial services, and retail. Predictive analytics improves makes your business more efficient and your ability to invest in meaningful marketing and support campaigns to take your business to the next level.
No matter how you use predictive marketing analytics, you can bet it will help you break through the clutter and reach your audience more effectively. Learn more about how to kick off your predictive analytics team and track the right customer success metrics by contacting our team today.
