It’s commonly said that your marketing is only as good as the numbers tell you it is.

But knowing your numbers is sometimes easier said than done. We have had two clients recently who have fallen into the “analysis vs. understanding” trap. It leaves companies lost in a pool of numbers or causes them to retreat back into a part of marketing they actually understand and avoid crunching the numbers altogether. For both companies, the fear and lack of understanding of the data showed up in very different ways.

I’ll just put my head in the sand!

This is the most common reaction when companies don’t understand the numbers. They may nod their heads in agreement while going over the analysis, but because they ignore what they don’t understand and make it seem like they do, they miss a huge opportunity to see into the workings of their business and make better decisions.

Unfortunately, there are many marketing companies that throw out a lot of numbers. Most are vanity numbers so you will believe they are bringing you a bunch of business. For example, we’ve had companies come to us for a second opinion of their marketing that have had unbelievable traffic numbers and little to show for it in terms of real business.

It turns out that traffic, while important, is not the silver bullet for digital marketing. The right traffic is. So understanding what the right traffic is plays a huge part when looking at the overall traffic numbers.

To do an analysis you must have data

Many small, local companies don’t think they have any data to look at. But if you have a website that has Google Analytics and Google Console hooked up, you have some very good data to look at and make decisions from. You also have data from your customer relationship management as well.

Unfortunately, most companies have a ton of data but don’t do anything useful with it. They, or the marketing company they work with, do a lot of analysis, yet they have no real understanding of what the data means. Analysis simply breaks down information into smaller actionable bits for further study. Understanding is seeing how these bits affect each other when looking at the overall big picture.

When companies that are service or product-driven collect all this data about their customers, employees, industry, and trends, they often miss opportunities to use this information to improve their strategies. They struggle to see the bigger picture of what is happening now, which leads them to not see how what is going on right now will affect their business in the future.

The sleight of hand

In magic, a magician spends most of the time getting the viewer to watch something besides the trick. In business, if you are always asking those doing your marketing to do anything but look at the analysis, then you are missing out on what might be the very thing that will improve your business more than anything else.

This is exactly what was happening with a client of ours. Every time we went to cover the online analysis, they would bring up a month-old Facebook post that they thought wasn’t right on target. They’d spend the entire time talking about the background color, font, etc. of that one post. Today, 1% of your organic audience on Facebook will see any given post and pretty much no one new will see it in their feed. Why did the client focus so much on this one post? They lacked an understanding of what the analysis was saying was actually important. 

Once we pinned them down and convinced them how important this was for their business, they stopped and let us go through the online numbers properly. They were finally able to make a plan. When you go beyond the raw numbers an analysis brings and move into understanding, you start to care and do more of what’s working for your business and stop worrying about things that aren’t as important.

Once analysis is understood, take action!

Customer profiles, values, and expectations keep changing over time. Keep up with the trends regarding how customers find you, how they want to communicate with you, and where they are now.

Competitors, the way you compete, and the overall market competition are always shifting. Did anyone go out of business, sell their business, or hand it down to a family member? Are there new tools or strategies in the marketplace that can help you compete as things change? What has changed and what hasn’t are all things to look at when evaluating your data.

The way businesses interact with customers, including customer service and marketing methods, is constantly evolving. Are you keeping up with the most recent ways you can interact with your customers? Do you look at customer service as a thing you do or an attitude everyone should have? What marketing methods are coming down the pike? Do you embrace them or are you afraid of them?

Employee demographics, values and what they want from a job change over time. Do you know what your employees want to get out of their jobs? Do you have a career path or a stagnant job? What has changed that you need to pay attention to in the people you are now hiring? Are you expecting them to change or are you willing to change?

The technology businesses use to operate is continually advancing and processes need updating. Have you explored the latest technology in terms of your industry, marketing, sales, and customer service?

Business costs like staffing and materials fluctuate, which affects pricing and profits. Are there innovative ways to cut costs you’ve overlooked for inventory control, staffing, and operations? Have you been reading and keeping up with what’s new?

Your business is not static so you can’t afford to not keep pace with the changing landscape all around us. Understanding your data through analysis is a great way for you to connect the dots from your business today to the business it will need to be in the future.

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About the authors: Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill are the authors of Blue Collar Proud: 10 Principles for Building a Kickass Business You Love and the owners of Spark Marketer, a "no bull" digital marketing company that’s been getting sh*t done for home service businesses across the nation for a decade. They’re trusted thought leaders in the industries they serve, which is why you’ll find them regularly speaking at service industry trade shows and conferences and writing for trade magazines. Tired of empty promises and ready for focused digital marketing and balls-to-the-wall dedication that gets your business seen? Visit www.sparkmarketer.com.