Yes, there’s a growing mass of data out there. And increasingly, email marketers realize collecting data isn’t enough. You’ll need to tap into some email analysis in order to learn from and act on that data. But despite the increasing importance of data, marketers are still lacking the tools. Here’s why a tool matters, and what to look for in one.
Marketers are recognizing importance of analysis
In addition to recognizing the need for data, marketers are also recognizing the importance of data analysis. According to a report from Infogroup Targeting Solutions, for which 370 
marketers were surveyed, 73% said improving data analytics would be a top priority in 2014, compared with 38% who cited analysis as a top priority in 2013.
I suspect marketers are recognizing the importance of analytics because it’s no good having data if you can’t learn from it to be an even better marketer, one who delivers ever more targeted, relevant and even personalized messaging.
But knowing you need to do email analysis and actually doing email analysis aren’t necessarily going hand in hand for email marketers.
Why so many marketers don’t do analysis
When asked which barriers prevent them from using Big Data to deliver multichannel marketing programs, 25% cited “limited tools and technology.” This tells me marketers feel stuck, like they know what they should be doing but lack the means to.
The tools are out there though. If your email service provider doesn’t offer an email analysis tool that meets your needs, start looking around for a third-party solution until you find the right email analysis tool for your organization, one that integrates with your ESP but still gives you the insight you need.
What to look for in an analysis tool
When you start looking for a tool, first be clear on what you need to know. There are different types of tools with different kinds of insights.
In my opinion, however, the right email analysis tool is the one that gives you actionable insight in an instant.
The right email analysis tool will do more than look good. It will enable you to get insights fast…like at-a-glance fast. It should help you to see trends, identify segments, and zero in on data while still seeing the big picture. It should simplify your email reporting so you can immediately see what’s going on, what’s working and what flopped, as well as make it easy to share that information with others. In short, your email analysis should make it possible for you to do your analysis in minutes rather than days.
Ideally, your email analysis tool should also let you visualize data from other business systems such as ecommerce, CRM, social media and web analytics, all combined in a single view.
You might not find an email analysis tool that has all of those capabilities and integrates with your ESP too, but go for as much analytics power as you can in your search.
Data is here to stay and will only grow in importance. Now it’s time for the next stage: using analytics to learn from that data. But without the right tools, how can you?
About the Author: Sharon
