The impact of digital maturity on your marketing performance

Digital transformation has been a buzzword in the business world for some time now and with very good reason.

Digital transformation refers to the process of integrating digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing (and improving) how it operates and delivers value to customers. Here, we’ll explore how digital maturity impacts marketing performance, specifically in the realm of digital marketing and advertising.

Understanding the importance of digital maturity in marketing

As businesses increasingly adopt digital technology, the expectations of consumers have also shifted, in many cases with consumer expectations advancing at a higher rate than many businesses can keep up with. Digital consumers want personalised, relevant content delivered to them on their preferred devices, at the right time and in the right format. 

Traditional marketing approaches that rely on mass communication or linear broadcast advertising still have their place in a marketing mix, however, when considered alongside performance marketing, they’re no longer as effective as they once were in a silo. To succeed in today’s digital age, businesses must embrace digital advertising as a key part of their overall marketing strategy, and the only way to do this correctly, time and time again, and at scale, is through reliance on technology. 

The positive impact of digital maturity on marketing performance

The positive impact of digital maturity on marketing performance can be seen in a number of ways:

A more comprehensive understanding of your target audience

Businesses with high levels of digital maturity tend to have a more comprehensive understanding of their target audience. This is because they have access to vast amounts of data on consumer behaviour and preferences, which can be used to inform marketing and advertising efforts. Such data often is a blend of first and third-party data, collected from website and app activity, customer surveys, service and returns teams, and internal data analyses, combined with purchased audience data from advertiser platforms and a variety of third-party insights. Digital maturity as presented through data capabilities and teams, or agency relationships, will allow your business to collect, analyse, and leverage data to create personalised marketing campaigns that resonate with your target audience. 

Reaching your target audience through more varied channels

Digital maturity enables businesses to reach their target audience through a variety of channels. In addition to traditional marketing channels, digital marketing offers a wide range of channels. Not only does digital offer the channels you’re more commonly aware of, such as social media, email, search engines, and mobile apps, but there’s also a growing list of surfaces in which you can target your media on, most of which are bought ‘programmatically’ – such as DOOH (‘Digital Out Of Home’) advertising like on billboards and bus stops, and ‘takeovers’ or ‘mastheads’ where full website ad wrappers can be applied based on either user or website contextual targeting. By leveraging these channels, businesses can reach their target audience where they are most likely to engage with their content. 

Measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts in real-time

Real-time marketing measurement is also a huge benefit to digitally mature organisations. In these businesses, data pipelines exist between data sources, giving real-time feedback on company performance. 

Of course, digital advertising platforms themselves operate in near real-time, but connecting this with CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, information on live stock levels and other internal information adds more context to the basic campaign analytics. This real-time information allows businesses to quickly identify which marketing efforts are working and which are not, and make adjustments accordingly. 

Act faster on better data

Whilst it’s long been true that programmatic media (including PPC and Paid Social Ads) allows marketers to be more responsive to performance feedback than linear TV or more traditional advertising metrics, businesses which are more digitally mature typically also have access to better data in the same timeframe. 

By better data, what we mean is that the insights derived from it can lead to higher marketing effectiveness. For example, by combining performance data with customer and/or sales data, businesses can take a longer-term view of the impacts of their performance marketing. This allows campaigns to be optimised and purchased based on metrics such as Customer Lifetime Value, rather than in-platform ROI/ROAS. 

A deeper understanding

Not many companies approach all digital decisions as if they were optional, but in actual fact, all channel activations, media purchases or website or creative changes are. A culture of testing changes is imperative if you want to get better insight into ‘what works’ online. Digitally mature businesses understand this (and more importantly so do their executives!) In terms of effectiveness, reporting on test results is more important than the tests themselves, as, without reflection and potential change, the effort invested into a testing programme may never pay dividends. 

Digital transformation is essential for businesses looking to succeed in today’s digital age. Digital maturity has a significant impact on marketing performance, allowing businesses to create personalised marketing campaigns, reach their target audience through a variety of channels, test and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts in real time, and be more agile and responsive due to the quality of their data. 

By embracing digital marketing and advertising as a key part of their overall marketing strategy, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and meet the evolving expectations of digital consumers.

We help our clients with digital maturity consultancy and related data and advertising services. Get in touch if you think you could benefit from this approach.