Businesses today are harnessing the power of analytics and machine learning to leverage their data to help make informed business and marketing decisions. Rather than paying an analyst loads of money to interpret that data, or be swallowed by overwhelm in an attempt to do so themselves, business owners can make their data work for them.
Who needs a fortune teller when you have the technological ability to make smart predictions about the future based on your own real-time data? Who needs an oracle when you can see which strategies are working best for your business in a matter of seconds?
Predictive marketing is a technology that’s very much at the forefront of digital marketing trends. The goal of using predictive analytics is to take the guesswork out of understanding your customers so that you can maximize every opportunity. Armed with this level of data, you can calculate the probability of users to click on an ad, download an ebook, respond to an email, or take any other action within your marketing strategy. That’s powerful.
In fact, marketers and business owners who are using the power of this technology are more likely to not only report revenue growth at rates higher than the industry average, but also more likely to occupy a commanding leadership position in the markets they serve.
While the adoption of this technology is still in the early stages, many businesses are quickly incorporating predictive analytics and machine learning to inform their marketing strategy. According to Dresner Advisory Services, less than a quarter of businesses are using predictive analytics — though almost all aspire to do so.
Machine learning + human creativity
Marketing has always been a field that involves testing — testing to see which page works or which copy converts best in an ad or email headline, etc. The best marketers are always engaged in creative testing and have to do so in order to be effective.
The question is, how would your creative marketing improve when using analytic models based on your own customer data? Some posit that, rather than replace creativity in marketing departments, machine learning would amplify it and allow creative teams to hone their focus from the outset. Marketing finds its happy place at the center of where great new ideas meet current trends and past behavior.
Using predictive analytics, you can start off from a more informed position. Rather than playing the marketing guessing game, you can now pull from all the data generated by your business.
Predictive analytics, Ontraport style
Ontraport’s own predictive analytics feature, Projection Mode, uses data from all your past and current campaigns to generate intelligent predictions of how new or potential campaigns might perform. The feature even allows you to create “what if” scenarios to see what might happen in downstream or upstream elements of the campaign if you were to make a change.
When you turn on Projection Mode, you can begin to make informed decisions about marketing, sales, or any function for which you’re using campaign builder in your business.
The nitty gritty: how Projection Mode functions in Ontraport
First, let’s clarify the difference between the two analytics modes in Ontraport: Performance Mode and Projection Mode.
Performance Mode is the real-time display of how your campaigns are performing; Projection Mode calculates your stats, based on current or previous performance, and shows you the potential impact that various changes will have in the future.
For example, say you want to increase conversions to a course you’ve created by a specific amount in order to achieve a given ROI on your marketing spend. Simply enter in your conversion goal, and watch the future unravel. Your goal will affect the other statistics within the campaign, such as number of clicks needed on a particular email or number of opt-ins to your free ebook, to show what you’d need to accomplish in those areas to achieve the result of your higher conversion rate. The statistic will adjust, all of which is based on your past and present customer and lead data.
Predictive marketing is being touted in the industry as no less than the future of digital marketing. In order to take advantage of this functionality — and for it to be accurate and, therefore, helpful — you need to have all your data in one place. The more data being generated about every move you make within your business, the better Projection Mode can work for you. When you use a platform such as Ontraport that can store all the data from all of your efforts, you are well equipped to use predictive analytics in your marketing efforts.
Now or later, modern marketers will have to integrate predictive analytics into their marketing strategy. So why not be ahead of your competitors? It’s simpler for you and smarter for your growing company.
Chantal is a content marketing specialist and journalist with over a decade of experience working with clients in a wide diversity of industries. As a long time solopreneur, she has grown a skill set that makes her particularly adaptable to client needs and agile when adopting a new brand voice.
She has helped many teams grow their businesses through strategic content marketing and social media campaigns, targeted web, blog and email copy and curated content experiences. A travel enthusiast with wanderlust running through her blood, she’s always anticipating the next adventure.
