Powering Your Marketing Strategy With Predictive Analytics

February 2019

by Monica Mizzi

In an effort to gain a greater understanding into what makes their customers tick, more companies are turning to predictive analytics. Businesses can leverage the data insights provided by predictive analytics to better plan digital marketing campaigns so that they are more accurate and, in turn, more effective.

However, predictive analytics is still an underused marketing method due to confusion over what exactly it entails, as well as a lack of understanding about how to acquire the necessary data in the first place. What is predictive analysis and how can businesses begin using it?

What Is Predictive Analytics and Why Is It Valuable to Marketers?

According to CIO, predictive analytics is “a category of data analytics aimed at making predictions about future outcomes based on historical data and analytics techniques such as statistical modeling and machine learning.”

In the context of marketing, it involves the analysis of big data to pinpoint the behavior of potential and existing customers. Predictive analytics can shed light on customer behavior in a number of contexts, including:

The way customers respond to a given product or service
Their reactions to a new marketing campaign
How cross-sell opportunities will be received
What types of customers will buy certain products (and which customers will not)
What types of customers will spend the most money (and which will spend the least)

Using this information, marketers have a concrete reference point to inform their future marketing strategies. The host of benefits predictive marketing provides is precisely why it shouldn’t be mistaken for just another buzzword in the marketing world. Predictive analytics gives marketers deep insights about their customers to which they would otherwise not have access.

Put simply, instead of taking a stab in the dark when trying to figure out how your customers will react to a marketing campaign or strategy, predictive analytics empowers you with scientifically-based predictions based on customer data.

If you still need further convincing on why predictive analytics is so valuable to marketers, consider the fact that there is no better source of information about your customers than, well, your customers! So, it makes sense to use a tool that provides you with these insights, right?

How Can a Business Acquire Data?

Now that you have an idea about what predictive analytics is and why it’s important, you’re probably wondering how a business can acquire the data needed for predictive analytics. That’s a great question—there are numerous ways to do so, from customer reward programs to third-party promotions to analytics programs. While these can provide useful data, they often require a high-level of expertise to not only accurately extract the data, but to also draw meaningful predictions from it so that it can be put into use.

That’s why one of the easiest ways to acquire meaningful data about your customers is to ask customers directly for it. And no, you don’t have to awkwardly email them and asking them to fill in a survey about their buying preferences. We’re talking about gaining big data by presenting your customers with quizzes, polls and contests on your website that are tailored to their interests.

At Insticator, we work with businesses to help them create these kinds of interactive offerings. Companies can ascertain who their customers are and how they think by shaping questions around their values, preferences and opinions. Our dashboard makes it easy to access and analyze all the data that results from customers answering questions.

While it sounds too simple a solution for something as complex as big data, it’s as straightforward as it sounds. We believe data doesn’t have to be a minefield to understand, which is why we’ve streamlined the whole process—from data extraction to data analysis.

Forecasting Predictive Analytics Trends

According to a report by Zion Market Research, the global predictive analytics market was already valued at approximately USD 3.49 billion in 2016. This valuation is expected to more than triple by 2022, with a projected value of approximately USD 10.95 billion.

There’s good reason why the future of predictive analytics is so profitable. As Ohio University points out, a range of industries are expected to benefit from the rapid expansion of predictive analytics. The researchers hone in on four industries that they predict will be considerably shaped by predictive analytics, that is, insurance, traffic and driver safety, health care and manufacturing.

Of course, that is not to say its reach is limited to these industries. In fact, predictive analytics has the power to benefit any industry. It is just a matter of businesses sufficiently valuing and making use of it. The implication for businesses that do so now is that they will reap the rewards of being at the forefront of predictive analytics usage for years to come.

Monica Mizzi is a digital marketer who has worked with a diverse range of clients including national newspapers, tech publications and blockchain companies. Her experience with leading on-page SEO fixes, link building, and content creation efforts has helped successive clients to rank on the first page of Google, as well as strengthen their online reputation and web presence.

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