Deeper Insights: Going the Extra Mile to Interpret Your Marketing Data for Actionable Insights

By Chris Doyle

• Feb 28, 2025

We all know how valuable data is for marketing by now. It’s essential for predicting trends, getting to know your customers, measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and so on. But if you’re relying on dashboards and auto-generated reports to give you all your insights, you’re missing out on much of your data’s potential.

Here are four tips for making the most out of your marketing data.

     1. Accuracy over precision, direction over stagnation

Often, people fixate on obtaining the exact numbers for their KPIs. How many visits did we receive on our site, exactly? How much was our CPA down to the nearest cent? I’m not saying these metrics aren’t important—they absolutely are—but they don’t have to be 100% accurate for you to gain valuable insights. As I like to say, the scale doesn’t need to be precise for me to know if I’m losing weight. 

Instead, it’s about depicting and identifying key trends that can help you make more informed decisions. For instance, comparing progress to other points in time is a tactic in measuring marketing success. For many investors, YOY comparisons are the holy grail of metrics. But they need to be considered in context. For example, if I was at $50,000 in sales in March of last year and I’m only at $42,000 this March, based on those two points alone, I’m doing worse this year. But if I zoom out and look at how my sales were trending up to those points, I might get a different story. If sales were trending down last year, but they’re on the upswing this year, I might be a bit behind on my quota, but the momentum is picking up, and in some ways, that’s more important.

     2. Compare like for like

We divide data into neat little squares: month, week, quarter, etc. And it makes sense to do this because it’s an easy way to measure progress. There’s just one problem—the calendar is a bit more complex than that. Not every month has the same number of days; the exact dates fall on different weekdays from year to year. Every four years, we add an extra day to account for the time we didn’t factor into the previous three. The point is, for businesses in many industries, the day of the week or the time of the year can greatly impact your data. So it’s important when comparing historical data that you account for data in matching timeframes.

     3. Don’t rely on dashboards alone

Dashboards are great for a quick snapshot of your data, but they often barely glimpse the full picture. You need deeper insights and real analysis. Data visualization tools like Tableau or even advanced knowledge of Excel can show you a smooth curve of your daily data so you can identify the key trends and patterns you need to make informed adjustments to your strategy. Getting your data in place takes time and investment, but it’s well worth it. 

     4. Look at price tolerance over cost

Many KPIs marketing relies on are averages, but anyone in business will tell you that not all sales are created equal. For instance, CPA is a metric many marketers harp on, to keep every lead or sale as close to that price as possible. But this only tells part of the story. For example, if I’m nearing a very important milestone in sales for the year, I am likely willing to spend a lot more on that acquisition than at the beginning of the month or quarter. Instead of working up from what my campaigns cost, I work down from my tolerance for cost. By looking at the marginal utility based on my objective outcome, I gain much more flexibility.

It’s a common misconception that if we have the data, then we automatically have the answers to any of our business questions. That may be true, but in a world that focuses on ease and efficiency, it’s easy to forget that there are answers we have to work for. Despite the vast amount of data we now have access to, you won’t find insights or solutions with a cursory glance at a few KPIs; you need to dig deeper.

About RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors  

Formed in 2023, RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors is a multi-regional, residential and commercial roofing and exterior solutions platform focused primarily on insurance-claim demand. Its companies use a differentiated direct-to-consumer selling model to provide customers with roofing and exterior services. RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors is headquartered in Duluth, GA with 24 offices across 10 states. The current RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors portfolio of brands includes Perimeter Roofing, Humbled Roofing & Restoration, Regal Roofing, Blue Hammer Roofing and Mills Siding & Roofing.