One of the great things about writing blogs about any topic is that it allows you to think through and reflect on your practice or specialty. And that’s true whether you’re a teacher, a consultant, a businessperson, an athlete, or marketers like us – just about anyone can benefit from reflection. What worked and what didn’t? Why did something work? What caused a change (in our case, what motivated a behavior change in potential customers/clients)?
One area that I’ve been reflecting on lately is this idea of the art and science of marketing – an area that we, as marketers, probably don’t raise enough with clients. The fact of the matter is, both aspects exist in any good campaign. And, in the ideal world, you should try to integrate the two when it comes to your own marketing.
First, let’s cover the science part, as it’s really involves core principles that anyone can take advantage of.
The Science of Marketing
In our experience, we see a lot of businesses that tend to disregard certain core fundamental aspects of marketing, especially those parts that are based in science, data, predictability, and other core psychological principles. We’ve said this before, but the truth is your customers are predictable in many ways – that’s regardless of the industry you’re in. This science aspect of marketing really involves understanding customer behavior, measuring campaign performance, and making data-driven decisions to maximize ROI. Here are many examples of the science of marketing:
No. 1: Using Data for More Personalization in Targeting
In today’s digital landscape, data is invaluable. Whether you’re a big company like Amazon using past purchase/browsing data to create personalized shopping experiences or you’re simply a small business using Google’s geographic matching to target local customers, what you’re basically doing is using available information to increase the odds that the right customers will convert. That’s because more personalized targeting (especially analyzing and using the data available) works. According to a recent study by McKinsey, personalization results in an average 10 to 15% increase in revenue. [1]
No. 2: Timing Campaigns, Frequency, and Touchpoints
While there might be some “art” involved as to when you launch a campaign, when it comes to the frequency of the touches or setting a particular frequency cap in terms of impressions, there’s actually very little that isn’t quantifiable over time if you do the right upfront testing. For example, there will be certain facts about timing your campaigns that can become pretty established in terms of days of the week, hours, etc. which work best for your particular audience. In terms of overall volume, the research is pretty clear that it takes 8 to 14 touchpoints before a customer makes a purchase decision. Understanding the optimal timing for these touchpoints by collecting data on it (a simple science data collection project) can significantly impact campaign success.
For instance, an email marketing campaign might be scheduled to coincide with key moments in the customer journey, such as following up after a cart abandonment or sending a reminder before a limited-time offer expires. By using data to track customer interactions and engagement levels, marketers can strategically time their communications to increase the likelihood of conversion.
No. 3: A/B Testing for Optimization
A/B testing is a scientific method for determining the most effective elements of a marketing campaign. For example, an e-commerce company might test two versions of a landing page to see which one results in higher conversion rates. One version might feature a different headline, image, or call-to-action button. By systematically changing one variable at a time and analyzing the results, marketers can figure out which one performs best and use that.
A/B testing is also common with email campaigns, where marketers might individually test (again one variable at a time) a subject line, a sender name (to optimize for opens) or a headline or body copy, images, or call-to-action button (to optimize for clicks).
In both these cases, the data doesn’t lie. You use a scientific process to figure out which one works best and employ that particular variable.
No. 4: The Science Around Urgency
The psychological principle of scarcity is a powerful tool in marketing. And it’s well-established in data. For example, limited-time offers or countdown timers on e-commerce websites tap into the fear of missing out (FOMO), prompting customers to make quicker purchase decisions. For example, we’ve seen studies that found limited time offers can increase the likelihood of customers making a purchase by as much as 33%.[2] This tactic is rooted in behavioral economics, where scarcity increases perceived value. For example, knowing this as a company, why not add messaging (countdown timer, headlines, etc.) about the fact that an offer is coming to an end? And increase that frequency as the deadline gets closer. The data says you’ll most certainly improve your marketing performance.
No. 5: Using Predictive Analysis
In short, predictive analytics uses historical data to forecast future trends and behaviors – something more and more companies are employing in their marketing. Take Netflix, for example. The company uses predictive analytics to recommend shows and movies based on users’ viewing history. By analyzing patterns in user data, Netflix can predict which content is likely to keep subscribers engaged.
But you don’t have to be a huge online streaming juggernaut to engage in this type of analysis or do employ any fancy AI algorithm. Most small businesses have access to, say, Google Analytics, which can reveal popular content on your site as well as popular pages or topics. By looking at that data, you can certainly gauge what your audiences care about – and then produce more content around those topics, leading to more engaging and, hence effective, content development.
The Art of Marketing
As you might guess, the art of marketing revolves around creativity, storytelling, and emotional engagement. It’s involves using some of your own intuition as well as some personal skills in crafting marketing collateral that can resonate with audiences on a deeper level. Here are four ways marketing is indeed an art form:
No 1: Crafting a Brand Story
If you think about it, there are an endless number of options for you when it comes to creating a brand story or narrative – especially one that distinguishes your business in a crowded market. Yes, there is some data to look at and analyze (science). But for the most part, you as a business owner have to take what you know about yourself and your company, your audience and your competitors to put together an approach that projects a unique brand in your industry. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s a really good exercise. (Let us know if you need help on narrative development too.) From there, you’ll also want to think through the taglines and mission statement that support that narrative. Whether it’s “Think Different” (Apple) or “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” (BMW) you’ll want to think creatively about how that both can resonate or hook those customers, as well as reinforce the narrative you’ve created.
No 2: Your Approach to Design and Visuals
A lot of small businesses focus on messaging when it comes to marketing but often ignore an equally important aspect – your company’s visual appearance and design. Again, there is no set way to go here for any company, as the universe of potential design elements is nearly unlimited. That’s why it’s an art. Science can’t dictate what you choose because every business is different. But having a distinct look is critical as are the colors and fonts, photos, and other aspect of how you express your “visual identity.”
One of the best things you can do here: As much as possible use original photos, videos and other assets that are unique to your company. And if you can hire a professional photographer or videographer. This will help boost your inherent authenticity and trust, which is a huge factor in the performance of your campaigns.
No 3: Your Ability to Create Emotional Campaigns
Using emotion in marketing is really about your intuition and your ability to empathize with other people. It’s not a science simply because it requires someone’s unique ability to put themselves in another’s shoes and understand what truly drives them. We’ve talked before about the 4 Core Emotions of Marketing but there are honestly a ton of others. And how you approach an emotional campaign – whether that’s in advertising, email, content – is always a matter of personal feel – what feels right to you and how can you execute that emotion well enough that it resonates.
No. 4: Developing Engaging Content
Writing this blog for example, isn’t about just reading what the data says and reproducing something relevant. To be honest, I took the idea from other areas – education and training – where I saw an “art and science” approach has worked with audiences, and indeed helped implement successes at different places I worked.
With content, after all, you have to try to be creative. You take something that is known in a particular area and you twist it slightly so the original thing can still be seen but is now something a bit different and unique. And while there is certainly a science/data aspect to content – (What content types are audiences consuming? What topics are most popular, etc.), you still have to come up with something new and unique.
That takes some skill and there’s certainly an art to it.
Integrating Art and Science in Marketing
Let’s face it: The most effective marketing strategies seamlessly integrate both art and science. To illustrate, take an easily accessible example: Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. The slogan itself is a masterpiece of simplicity and emotional appeal, embodying the brand’s ethos of determination and athleticism. That took a certain “art” and creativity. However, behind the scenes, Nike certainly used data-driven insights to identify what would both resonate with the right audiences (testing the messaging) and how to best target those individuals when they employed their campaigns. This blend of creativity and data ensured that its marketing was not only emotionally resonant but also highly effective.
Conclusion
We’re hoping you found this helpful. As always, if you need additional help or support when it comes to either this art or science aspect of marketing, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-value-of-getting-personalization-right-or-wrong-is-multiplying
[2] https://abmatic.ai/blog/role-of-scarcity-and-urgency-in-conversion-rate-optimization
