Insights from non-marketing departments of a client’s company may sometimes be very useful to digital marketing specialists, who are working to improve the effectiveness of the company’s digital marketing strategy. This especially includes insights from those departments that do not have direct communications with the customer. For example, a production engineer, or transport supervisor. Such employees might have a great idea, which if implemented, provide immense value to the company.

Digital marketing professionals should also not ignore the insights coming from business partners or other external sources. Corporate partners have the advantage of having similar industry and category experience, and can be a rich source of useful data and digital marketing insights. Special attention should be given to the questions asked by customers, as there can be no better direct feedback than that. However, many companies relegate these gem-like inputs to their customer service departments, where they remain, unexplored.

Here, it is important for the digital marketing professional to develop a cycle of feedback and review, so that action can be taken on the questions asked. Most companies are driven by a cycle of planning and release, so ensure that the data is collected within the given time-frame, so that it can be used in a timely manner. It is never helpful to gather data, if you do not have a plan on how you will apply the learning and when. If your digital marketing firm is new to this process, you will need some time to break out of your previous routine, and integrate it with your work process.

You can start small at first. First ensure that you have the backing of an influential member of the management, who will support your efforts. Next, pick out a few important questions that need answering, and work on them. Finally, you can offer your solutions to the management, so that they approve suitable action. Then again, it may not always be possible to get a solid answer to all questions asked. Sometimes, queries lead to a lot of learning, and you should anticipate some unexpected digital marketing results. In the long run, these are the very queries that might generate the most value.

In summary, the conversations and interactions with prospective customers in the digital marketing arena provide a potential gold mine of data, which if mined properly, can reap rich dividends.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency and can be contacted on 020 8891 2077 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.