What is Marketing Analytics and Why Does It Matter?
Data-driven decision making in a business starts with marketing analytics. So when all is said and done, it is a matter of looking at certain marketing stats to learn how you are doing and to in turn improve your campaigns, and make better moves going forward. Whether you’re monitoring website traffic or calculating the ROI of your paid ads, marketing analytics provides the data, trends, and consumer behaviors behind your sales funnels and marketing campaigns.
But here’s the twist—even marketing analytics tools aren’t made equal. With dozens of options, companies can suffer from choice overload and struggle to figure out which tool is right for them. Selecting the best marketing analytics tool not only reduces the amount of time you spend on one platform but it also facilitates you to interpret the raw data into beneficial insights.
This guide will help you understand what to look for, some of the top tools available right now, and a step-by-step guide on how to integrate one into your business.
What to Consider When Choosing Marketing Analytics Software
The right marketing analytics tool will depend on what features actually matter to your business. Sure budgeting always kicks in, it should not be but you would always like to have something which is both functional and scalable. These are the most important things to pay attention to in order to make an informed decision.
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Integration of Data for an Integrated View
An awesome marketing analytics tool will be able to connect seamlessly with your current platforms. Whether it’s Google Ads, Facebook Insights, Shopify, or Salesforce, the tool you pick needs to be able to compile data from everywhere without a hitch. It is fully integrated so you can access all performance data on one dashboard, instead of switching between channels.
Pro Tip: Search for tools that allow for first-party and third-party data connections to ensure that your analysis is future-proofed.
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Real-Time Data Visualization
Numbers don’t lie, but can be hard to visualize. Some higher-end solutions offer real-time charts, heatmaps and dashboards to facilitate data analysis. Standout viewing lets you see what’s trending, what needs work and what to do next.
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Easy-to-Understand Reporting
Sure, your marketing team is not all data scientists. Competent analytics tools create simplified reports that are easy to digest. Search for a program with customized and automated reporting capabilities that will satisfy the technical and non-technical.
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Scalability and Customization
The analytics demands you have will expand as your company grows. Pick a tool that grows with your marketing. For example, a technology with predictive analytics based on AI, or that allows for bespoke API integrations, promise better support for future growth.
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User-Friendliness
Even if a tool does all the things but is clunky and nonsensical to navigate, it won’t bring your team any value. Always focus on usability and go with a product that has easy-to-use software and good customer service. A seamless user experience will enable your team to onboard onto the platform much quicker.
Best Marketing Analytics Tools to Consider
If you’re willing to dive into the best marketing analytics software, the following are some of the top dogs on the block.
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Google Analytics
Why It Shines: Google Analytics remains the unofficial go to for tracking your website stats. It provides fundamental insights such as traffic sources, bounce rates and session times. What’s more, it accepts Google Ads, so anyone running ads would find this tool valuable.
Best for: Website traffic and objective monitoring.
Pricing: Free (Premium features available within Google Analytics 360).
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HubSpot Marketing Hub
Why It Shines: HubSpot’s marketing analytics tool is just one feature of its larger CRM platform. It does not only track the performance of the campaign, but it also links data with your sales funnel. With its intuitive interface and metrics oriented to the end-customer (for example, email engagement rates), it is one of the most complete solutions on the market.
Best for: Bridging the gap between analytics and customer relationship management.
Pricing: $800/month for pro features, upon request for custom features.
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Mixpanel
Why It Shines: Mixpanel is known for its advanced behavioral analytics, which is ideal if your business is focused on an app. It shows user engagement at every step and product managers can track those all important churn statistics.
Ideal for: Tracking specific product marketing and user engagement.
Pricing: Free for standard analytics, paid plans from $25/month.
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Tableau
Why It Shines: The king of all data visualization, Tableau connects to nearly any data source to create beautiful, interactive dashboards. It’s great if you have huge data sets and want an enterprise-grade platform.
Ideal for: Advanced data visualization and team collaboration.
Price: Begins at $70/user per month.
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Kissmetrics
Why It Shines: Geared towards customer acquisition and retention, Kissmetrics provides precise data on how prospects engage with your business. This makes it a great option for your conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategy.
An ideal fit for: Conversion tracking and analytics of marketing ROI.
Price: From $299 per month.
How to Set Up a Marketing Analytics Tool
Found the perfect tool? Great! Now is the time to make sure its implementation is a smooth one. Here is a general, step-by-step guide to get you started.
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Step 1. Identify Your Goals
Begin with listing your marketing objectives and requirements that the platform should fulfill. Whether optimising click-through rates (CTRs), tracking leads, or analyzing customer lifetime value, knowing what it is you want to achieve is the starting point for your setup.
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Step 2. Integrate Data Sources
Integrate all relevant platforms into the marketing software. With most of these tools, there are integration guides so you can easily sync apps like Google Ads and social media or email campaigns and sales CRMs.
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Step 3. Customize Your Dashboard
Customize the tool’s dashboard to align with your top KPIs. If you’re all about lead tracking, focus on lead attribution or website form submission metrics.
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Step 4. Train Your Team
It’s not the tool that’s effective, it’s the team using the tool. Train team members who will be using the platform on a frequent basis. Many services provide webinars and onboarding tutorials to streamline implementation.
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Step 5. Test and Monitor Results
Test It: Run a test campaign to see whether the tool will work for you. Watch performance data and reports closely for the first 90 days to make sure the data are meeting your expectations. Take this time to work out any integration / usability woes.
Unlocking Better Decisions With Marketing Analytics
Marketing analytics software can be valuable friends to anyone trying to make sense of their data and stay ahead in a competitive market. Through visual dashboards to custom reports, these tools are set to make marketers more intelligent in their approach and benefiting their marketing ROI.
The next frontier of marketing analytics is leveraging AI and predictive technology. For investing in the appropriate solutions today, you prevent your business from lagging when the reality of a data-driven future comes to fruition.
Discover how Account-Based Marketing strategies can drive success by tailoring campaigns to high-value targets. Learn more in Driving Success with Account-Based Marketing Services.
Rosemary Barker