Can You Find All Your Answers in Data Analysis?

As a digital marketing professional I am a bit of a data nerd.  I can easily get lost in data for hours looking for the smallest reasons my recent ad campaign did so well or not so well.  In reality it’s easy to forget that not everything happens online these days. Even in our current  pandemic people are going out and having conversations, keeping appointments and meeting new people. It’s a reminder that not all our answers can be found in data.

I was reminded of this recently with a client.  As I was reviewing their marketing statistics for October I noticed a week where their call volume and appointments moved up dramatically, about 250%. I poured over their google analytics, I looked at their keywords for the week and their ad spend. I was looking  for the answer to why they had such an increase.  Then I picked up the phone and called their office.  “Just checking in” I said, “How are things going there? I noticed you had a really good month last month.”  To my surprise they told me their law firm had recently been highlighted in a local news story. 

In addition to their large city practice, one of the founding partners* has a small practice in a rural town about 10 miles outside their city.  He and a few other attorneys share this office and each one spends a few days a month there helping low income families with their legal needs.  Somehow the local news found out about it and produced a local news story about the attorney and his charity work.  The story generated an incredible amount of interest in the primary practice and his rural practice.  

If I had just relied on science and data for my answers I never would have discovered this information.  As a result we have been able to put the video of the news story on the client’s website and generate additional organic SEO results.  We’ve also created a web page sharing information about the charity work which differentiates this firm from others in the area.

The whole experience reminded me that effective marketing is a combination of art and science. Data analysis is highly useful for developing successful campaigns but talking to clients on a regular basis is just as important for generating creative ideas that engage audiences. 

*Please note due to Confidentiality Agreements I cannot disclose the names of clients without their express permission*