Understand and make use of all your data through the Share of Search loop

Though marketers have never before had access to so much data, they struggle to make it all make sense and actionable. The problem is bigger than one might think, with companies missing out on billions of dollars in missed revenue when they don’t make use of all data available. Having to understand all the various data bits and connecting them can be a struggle, but according to Tim Spencer from M&C Saatchi’s data agency Fluency, there is a simple way to help structure the data and give it meaning: by using the Share of Search loop.

“Trying to make sense of all data you get as a marketer already seems like a full time job, which you then have to combine with your actual job,” explains Tim, “all you need is a starting point that you can circle back to. Some metrics that form the basis for your continued strategic work and to us Share of Search is that starting point. It will trigger the right questions to know what data to tackle next and how to integrate it into your daily operations.”

“By simply looking at this, you can already start to ask what people associate you or your competitors with and what the marketing activities were or what your competitors have done during the periods of change. What channels did those marketing activities use, or was it things entirely outside of your control? All good questions to start your strategy work with,” Spencer continues.

During that strategy work, it will not only become clear what data is valuable for the execution, but also which data points will be the crucial KPI’s to follow during execution. Those will then help the marketer take faster, data driven decisions that the entire organization understands.

“Since marketing is all about creating interest, we can then see how all activities combined impact the Share of Search again, which we know will also impact market share, and from there you’re all set for the next strategy review,” concludes Tim.