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Kelford Labs Daily: Data-driven demonstration

What data causes your progress?

I’ll admit it, I don’t love the phrase, “data-driven marketing.”

Usually, it really means, “If we let the data decide, we might still be wrong, but at least there’ll be no one to blame.”

Data is only a better thing to base decisions on—than, say, gut feeling—if it helps you make better decisions.

But if we make bad decisions based on data, the data didn’t really help.

The number of people who downloaded your lead magnet, for instance, doesn’t actually help you if none of those people become customers.

Knowing how many people visited your website, if none of them buy anything, doesn’t tell you all that much.

Having a million followers on LinkedIn doesn’t do you any good if you have to spend all day on LinkedIn instead of providing an actual service.

Instead, focus on the data that influences the causes of your progress.

Like the types of leads that become customers—and the data around where they came from and what they valued.

Or the number of email subscribers who become customers—and the pieces of content they appreciated the most.

Or the number of people who filled out your contact form—and the referral sources that brought them to you.

Work back from what you want, and find the data that tells you what causes it.

Don’t be data-driven. Be demonstration-driven.

By using data to help you better demonstrate your value to the people who need it most.