Episode #2: Crucial "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Marketing Analytics

Here are 5 key takeaways from the podcast:

1. Set SMART Goals to Drive Focused Analytics: To maximize your marketing analytics, start by defining SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). These goals provide a clear target, ensuring your data analysis stays focused and actionable.

2. Choose the Right KPIs to Measure Success: Align your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with your SMART goals. KPIs like conversion rates or impressions will help you track progress and avoid getting distracted by vanity metrics.

3. Segment Your Data for Personalization: Break down your analytics by key dimensions (e.g., traffic source, campaign type) and audience segments (e.g., demographics, buying behavior). This allows you to deliver more personalized, targeted messages that improve engagement and conversions.

4. Integrate Data for a 360-Degree Customer View: Consolidating data from various sources (web analytics, CRM, ads, social media) into one system like Google BigQuery helps create a full picture of your customer journey, making it easier to track interactions, conversions, and customer behavior.

5. Focus on Attribution and Conversion Tracking: Implement attribution models to understand which channels and campaigns are driving results. Tracking conversions (e.g., sales or leads) is key to assessing your marketing efforts and refining your strategies based on actual performance.

Vadym:
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of The Data Crunch Podcast! I’m Vadym, Growth Marketing Manager here at OWOX, and today we’re diving into the essentials of marketing analytics with our Head of Marketing, Ievgen. How’s it going, Ievgen?

Ievgen:
Hey Vadym! I’m doing well, thanks. I’m really looking forward to today’s discussion because with marketing analytics, getting a few best practices right and avoiding common pitfalls can make all the difference. Having so many data points, data sources, Google Analytics, ads platforms, CRM, and corporate storage - it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but a structured approach is key.

Vadym:
Absolutely, and I think everyone listening has probably felt a little lost in the data at some point. So, let’s jump right in. Where should we start, Ievgen?

Ievgen:
Let’s start with the foundation: setting clear goals.
Or SMART goals.
Not clever, but actually using a framework for defining goals & objectives. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
Now, the reason these five elements are so important is that they create a clear target. Without them, it’s easy to get caught up in tracking irrelevant data points.
For example, instead of a vague goal like ‘increase website traffic,’ a SMART goal would look more like ‘increase website traffic from Google Search by 20% by the end of Q4.’
It’s specific. It gives you a way to measure success, and it has a clear timeline.
Just as in a real-life example - lose 20 pounds in 30 days. 

Vadym:
Yeah, that makes sense. So, SMART goals give us that ‘GPS destination’ for our analytics, keeping us on track, right? So, how do KPIs come into play here?

Ievgen:
Exactly, Vadym. Once you have SMART goals in place, the next step is to choose the right KPIs, or key performance indicators, to measure YOUR progress toward those goals. In general and in time.
Think of KPIs as the metrics that reflect your performance in relation to your objectives.

For example, if increasing brand awareness is your goal, your KPIs could be metrics like impressions or reach.
But if the goal is driving conversions, then KPIs like the number of sign-ups or purchases would be relevant.
And in this case, counting the number of impressions makes almost zero sense for you.
Having the right KPIs in place keeps you focused on the metrics that impact your goals, rather than getting distracted by flashy numbers that don’t drive real results.
If you want to learn more about how to define KPIs specific to your situation, we’ll leave a very detailed video in the description of this podcast as well… so check it out :)

Vadym:
Got it. So KPIs basically tell us if we’re making progress toward our goals or if we need to make adjustments. Ok… What’s next after setting KPIs?

Ievgen:
After KPIs, the next best practice is segmentation. And I am talking here about 2 types of segmentation.
The first method is to segment your results by different dimensions.
For example, if you’re analyzing the traffic, you can have some custom channel grouping like organic traffic, paid, referral, affiliate whatever,
Maybe you need to segment that by Facebook ads, Google Ads, YouTube ads, etc.
Maybe by landing page, it really depends on your business…
But then, there is more of a marketing tweak - the audience segmentation.
And this is really important for delivering the right message at the right time in the right place.
Basically, segmentation means dividing your audience into different groups based on things like demographics, buying habits, or interests.
This way, you can make your messages more relevant for each individual.
For example, what catches a first-time visitor’s attention is probably different from what works for a loyal customer. The more tailored your approach is, the better your engagement will be.

Vadym:
Interesting… So, I guess we’re moving from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy to something that feels much more customized and relevant to each audience group.

Ievgen:
Exactly. In today’s market, consumers expect very personalized experiences. Segmenting allows you to speak directly to the needs of each group. For example, if you know a customer has already purchased a product, it’s much more effective to send them information on complementary products rather than pushing the same initial offer. This approach not only improves engagement but also builds stronger customer relationships by showing you understand them better, their pains, and their needs.

Vadym:
That makes so much sense. Okay, so we’ve got our goals, KPIs, and segmentation. What’s the next thing?

Ievgen:
Next up is integrating your data to create a 360-degree view of your customers. This means consolidating data from various channels—like web analytics tools like GA4, probably you already have that data available in the storage - like you already have GA4 BigQuery export setup, I can’t really see any reasons for not doing this today.
Then advertising expenses, social media, email stats, sales from the CRM,
You need to use all that in the reports - so the best first step is to consolidate that into any kind of unified system.
Like Google BigQuery or Snowflake.
Vadym:
Ievgen, could you please now tell us why this integration part is so necessary? Why can’t we just consolidate stuff in Google Sheets?
Ievgen:
Because otherwise, when data is scattered across different platforms, it’s challenging to see the full picture.
To map the full analytics system end-to-end.
But with an integrated system, you can track how users interact with your brand across multiple touchpoints.
When you get all the data in one place, you can connect the dots between the ads and conversions, between page views and then real sales,
Build attribution models by your rules.
That all becomes available only when you get all the data into one system.
You basically get this 360-degree view, which potentially gives you a much clearer picture of the entire customer experience, which is a must-have for making informed decisions, data-informed decisions, yes.

Vadym:
Right, I guess it’s like trying to solve a puzzle when half the pieces are missing. Yeah, I get that that integration fills in those gaps so you can see the full story.

Ievgen:
Exactly, Vadym. It’s about collecting and preparing data.
And this full view is incredibly powerful because it lets you identify patterns you wouldn’t see otherwise. For instance, maybe you notice that customers who engage with certain types of social media content are more likely to make a purchase down the line.
Having all that data in one place allows you to make connections and optimize your strategy based on real behavior.

Vadym:
That’s really valuable and insightful. So now that we have this full customer view, what’s our next best practice?

Ievgen:
I’d say the next big thing is Attribution.
I see most businesses, like 95% and more, really struggle with that.
So what is Attribution?
It is all about figuring out which channels and campaigns are really driving your results. No matter what the end of the funnel for you is - a scheduled call, a client, an order, whatever it is.
Let’s say you’re running ads on Facebook, an email campaign, then Google Ads, and you have a lot of organic traffic.
The Attribution model lets you see which of these is actually bringing in the most conversions.
You can use different models, like last-click or first-click, or linear or U-shape even split the credit evenly to understand each channel’s impact.
You can build it super relevant to your business model.
Because each business is really unique.
This helps you see where your budget is working hardest, so you can make smarter decisions for future campaigns.
And look, Google Analytics provides that data-driven one, but a lot of businesses can’t really rely on it, as it’s a black box solution. They can’t trust it and prove it on real results.

Vadym:
Alright… Got it, so attribution is basically telling us which ingredients in the recipe make the dish taste so great! And speaking of impact, what about tracking conversions?

Ievgen:
Well, tracking conversions (whether they are online or offline) is the ultimate measure of effectiveness because it shows whether or not your strategy is achieving its end goals.
For instance, if your goal is to generate leads, a conversion might be a form submission or sign-up. If your goal is sales, the conversion could be an actual purchase.
So tracking these conversions helps you see what’s working and where you might need to refine your strategy.
So you need to be tracking specifically what’s in your KPI sheet.
It’s the best way to measure if you’re truly hitting the mark.

Vadym:
Right, conversions are the final check – they tell us if we’re on target or if there’s room for improvement. What about deeper insights? Is there a way to go beyond just conversions?

Ievgen:
Absolutely, that’s where practice #6 comes in: building end-to-end analytics, what’s also known as full-funnel measurement.
It allows you to go beyond surface-level metrics and dig into patterns, trends…
That would allow you to connect the dots between actions and what’s behind them.
For example, you can identify not just who is converting, but why they’re converting and what behaviors are leading up to it.
What’s on the banner, what was the color of the button,
And basically which ad campaign 3 months ago generated this particular repeated order?
You can even use predictive analytics to get a sense of future trends.
These insights are super valuable for fine-tuning your long-term strategy and staying one step ahead as the market changes… and ahead of your competition as well.

Vadym:
That’s fascinating. So full-funnel analytics are like a magnifying glass, letting us zoom in on the details we might miss otherwise. Alright, what about the pitfalls? What are some common mistakes we should avoid?

Ievgen:
Great question.
So let’s start with the most common pitfall: an incorrect tracking setup.
This is crucial because if your tracking isn’t set up correctly from the start, your data will be inaccurate, and any insights you gather won’t be reliable.
A common example is misconfigured Google Analytics on a website, which can result in data discrepancies.
Bad tracking leads to bad data and wrong decisions.
It’s absolutely essential to verify that all your tracking parameters are accurately set up and regularly tested to avoid issues down the road.

Vadym:
Yeah, I see… it’s like setting out on a road trip with a broken GPS – you’re bound to get lost. And… what are the other pitfalls to watch out for?

Ievgen:
Pitfall #2 is focusing too much on vanity metrics.
Vanity metrics are those big numbers that look impressive - like impressions or pageviews, but typically don’t impact your business objectives.
For example, having thousands of page views might seem great, but if those visitors aren’t converting, it’s just noise.
The key is to focus on actionable metrics that reflect real progress toward your goals.

Vadym:
Right, it’s easy to get distracted by big numbers. But unless they tie directly to your goals, they’re just fluff.
And what are the metrics to measure? Which ones would you recommend?

Ievgen:
There is no one-fit solution for every business.
But there are 2 metrics that matter the most.
It’s CAC and LTV.
So Customer Acquisition Cost and Customer Lifetime Value.
The end goal of every business is to make a profit.
So you should be analyzing how much is it worth to acquire a new customer and how much revenue does he bring to your business over the period of relationships with you.
Yes, then there might be COGS, sure.
But basically the first thing to look at is to make sure your LTV is higher than your CAC. 

Vadym:
Great, so the lesson is to focus only on actionable and important metrics.
So, what’s next?

Ievgen:
Pitfall #3 is ignoring data compliance.
With privacy laws like GDPR, and CCPA, data compliance is longer negotiable. Failing to comply can result in significant fines like Swedish Tele 2 just did for a 1M Euro and that might ruin your brand’s reputation.
Basically they were just using GA tracking incorrectly.
So making sure you’re collecting and storing data responsibly also builds trust with your audience and keeps you on the right side of the law.

Vadym:
That’s an excellent point. Compliance is the foundation of user trust. And what about reporting? Are there any common mistakes there?

Ievgen:
Yes, creating overly detailed reports is the next one.
When you overload reports with data: with more metrics, and irrelevant dimensions,  it’s easy to lose sight of what’s actually important.
Reports should be concise, focusing on key metrics that tell a clear story.
A report that’s filled with every possible data point can be overwhelming, especially for stakeholders who may not be as familiar with the data. Aim for simplicity and clarity.

Vadym:
Absolutely. Too much detail can make it hard to pull out anything actionable. The best reports keep it clear and straightforward.

Ievgen:
Actually, If you want to learn more about this - we have a full data analytics roadmap available as a video course on the OWOX BI YouTube channel, the final lesson is exactly about what’s hot and what’s not on the reporting side of things.
That actually wraps up our top practices and pitfalls!
Those are the best practices and pitfalls to keep in mind as you work on marketing analytics.

Vadym:
Thank you so much for the insights, Ievgen! And for everyone listening, if you’re ready to take your analytics to the next level, check our ​OWO​​X BI marketing analytics suite linked below.

You can get all the marketing reports you need in just 30 minutes or so,
Actionable dashboards, all the data in one place, so you can get insights faster and make smarter decisions.
Try it out with a free trial at owox.com or reach out to our incredible team to get help.
And don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The Data Crunch Podcast!

Ievgen:
Thanks Vadym for having me here today.
Guys, I wish you stay data-curious and keep exploring new possibilities your business data brings in!
Catch you in the next episode.