Drive campaign performance with the right data insights
Editor's Note: This is the first of a three-part series offering insights into what healthcare marketers need to know to make informed decisions about using data to drive media campaigns, whom to get it from, and how to use it responsibly.
The days of spray and pray marketing are well behind us. Marketers now have an abundance of brand-relevant data about target audiences to feed, build, and drive effective, efficient marketing campaigns. Yet despite this, only 60% of marketers worldwide say they use data the majority of the time for campaign decision making.1
Healthcare marketers should regularly leverage real-time marketing and audience data for effective advertising and media buys. However, not all health data is created equal. And know that using inaccurate (or dated) data may have the same effect as using no data at all.
If you’re a marketer considering investing in a data supplier (no matter your marketing objective), or if you’re currently leaning on an agency to do so on your behalf, take a few minutes to read on. The more you know about what influences your marketing, the better you can control your results and be smarter with your spend.
Types of data, the percentage of reach, and the consent to use it
Deterministic data, or first-party data, is based on real users and is known to be true. Name, age, email address, and even shopping behaviors are examples of deterministic data. Based on unique identifiers, you know you’re targeting a real person so you should be able to get as close to 100% reach as possible.
On the other hand, probabilistic data. This is derived data, based on relational patterns or statistically driven (probable) outcomes. Through the application of data science and machine learning, behavioral patterns can be identified and modeled to then be compared back to deterministic data points. For example, probabilistic data can be utilized to identify the same user across a range of devices and applications.
Health data can be extremely fragmented, so linking (or aggregating) data about each individual requires a level of confidence and confidentiality. Brands need data providers (or agencies that execute campaigns) that specialize in healthcare and offer a comprehensive understanding of health audiences to ensure compliance with healthcare marketing regulations and rigorous activation. Because of strict rules regarding protected health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII), confidentiality and privacy is of utmost importance. But aggregated data can be complicated. If your data supplier or agency is using aggregated data, they need to demonstrate their ability to link records in a privacy-preserving, de-identified way. Because when you’re buying data, you’re also buying the consent to use it.
Making the connection, in a timely fashion
If relevant to your objectives, it’s important to know if your data supplier or agency has ways to connect non-parallel data sets, such as physician to hospital or patient to physician. This bird’s-eye view of the health decision process enables you to design holistic push-pull experiences based on where the consumer or healthcare professional (HCP) is in their journey. Not all data providers do this. But it most certainly can be done.
It’s also key to be informed of the data update schedule. Once scrubbed, cleaned, and combined into the right usable formats, data usefulness diminishes with time, while the margin of error goes up. With automation progressing at such a rapid rate, you should be able to identify and activate dynamic audiences in real-time, at scale, and in an actionable format. Constant refinement leads to continued improvement.
Final thought (for now)
Ensure that audience lists and health segments built with it are regularly maintained and constantly refined to predict risk more accurately over time. This is key to identifying at-risk populations and HCPs with a propensity to refer. The goal is to segment your market with greater accuracy, establish message urgency, and select the most effective channels.
Source:
1. Statista. Share of marketers using customer data in their decision making worldwide in September 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1282486/customer-data-use-marketing…
