Using Powerful Data to Make the Right Marketing Decisions

One of the outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic and daily reporting of related stats is that we have probably all become quite a bit better acquainted with data. At the very least, almost everyone understands what the ‘R rate’ is.

Given that all this data is available, it is a surprise then that few organisations seems to be using this data in a marketing context. Now, more than ever, tailored, sensitive and responsible marketing communications are crucial. And the point is that we have the data available to drive it. Despite this, examples of organisations who are doing so seem to be few and far between.

For good example of how data can be a powerful driver for impactful decision-making – take what has happened in Leicester in the last week.

As has been widely reported, Leicester is the first city in the UK to have their lockdown status increased. This situation could potentially have been avoided had the data been available so that local authorities could have sent out early warnings to help to minimised the chances of infection and lockdown. Having the right data to hand allows one to be reactive to an ever-changing situation and to make better decisions.

The world has changed dramatically – with less face-to-face contact and a corresponding increase in digital services – at the same time many individuals are newly suffering from financial difficulties. More than ever, brands need to be targeting different audiences according to their different needs, and the data exists to help them do just that.

Research from Kantar shows that only 8% of consumers think brands need to stop advertising during the COVID-19 outbreak, but their expectations of how a brand should be helping them are huge: 78% believe brands should help them in their daily lives; 75% said brands should inform people of what they are doing and 74% said companies should not exploit the situation.

We’ve talk often about the power of direct mail to reach people at home. Mail reaches everyone, engenders trust and gives reassurance, has a tangible impact, drives interaction and gets people online – there is plenty of research and stats from the Royal Mail to back this up.

Direct mail should never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach. As with all communication, it should be tailored differently to different audiences – especially those who are vulnerable audiences, the recently unemployed, the furloughed and the self-employed. Each of these audiences has very different needs, and brands must be aware of these. And identifying these is now very easy, thanks to data!

Since April 2020, our data partner More Metrics has made available datasets that estimate COVID-19 risk factors and infection rates across the UK at a neighbourhood level. These datasets contain 20 different measures of risk at a range of local geographies, using our open source and GDPR-compliant data.

Not only can this data give you a greater insight into your customer base at local and national level, enabling you to maximise marketing and sales opportunities and operational efficiencies, but as you prepare to come out of lockdown, you can now add to this the fundamental requirement of customer and staff safety: in other words, how to open and operate safely within a COVID-19 world.

This data is free to use for a range of geographical areas including Parliamentary Constituency, Ward and CCG. If more granular data is required, the data is available at Postcode and attached to over 50m individual consented consumers.

Find out how we can help you to apply this data to make sensible, sensitive decisions and inform your marketing strategy, supporting data-driven decisions and responsible marketing. Get in touch today!