With data being the lifeblood of successful e-commerce and digital marketing strategies, the ability to collect, analyse, and act on it has revolutionised the way businesses advertise, optimise their websites, and make product decisions.
Here, Amy Knight, founder of one of UK’s fastest growing e-commerce companies, Must Have Ideas, explores how a data-driven approach can enhance advertising, web optimisation, and product development to drive sales and profit.
Testing and duplication
Within digital advertising, testing activities is key and enables businesses to decipher what works and what doesn’t. Marketers often run multiple campaigns simultaneously, experimenting with different creative elements, ad formats, and targeting options. This process, known as A/B testing (or multivariate testing when comparing higher variables), involves creating one – or even several variations of advertisements and measuring their individual performance.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates and return on ad spend (ROAS) can provide insights into which ads resonate most with the audience. This approach is fundamental to Must Have Ideas as we continuously track, test and distribute a multitude of targeted and timely adverts to our customers.
For example, it could be that a company assesses different versions of an Instagram ad to measure which one drives the most engagement. The data collected from these tests helps determine which creative elements (e.g. images, headlines, or a calls-to-action) are most effective with a specific audience. Once the best variation is identified, it can be recreated to reach a broader audience, which in turn allows them maximum return on their investment.
Targeting the right audiences
Data also plays a massive role in audience targeting and it’s fundamentally what drives Must Have Ideas. Digital platforms like Facebook, Google, and TikTok offer sophisticated audience targeting options based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and interaction history. By analysing customer behaviour and preference data, marketers can create highly targeted campaigns that reach the most relevant audience.
For instance, an online fashion retailer might use data to identify that their most engaged audience consists of women aged 18-24 who have shown interest in sustainable fashion. Having access to this degree of insight would allow the business owners and marketers to tailor their ads to this demographic.
Continuous testing and improvement
Like advertising, data is invaluable for optimising e-commerce websites with the goal being to create the most seamless and engaging user experience as possible to increase customer satisfaction and drive conversions.
Website optimisation involves the ongoing testing of different web page elements such headlines, images, product descriptions and call-to-action buttons. Tools like Google Analytics Heatmaps allows businesses to track how visitors interact with their site and armed with bounce rate, average session duration and conversion rate metrics, marketers can gain immense insight into what works best and what needs improving.
For example, an e-commerce site might test different versions of a product page to see which one leads to more sales. They might experiment with alternative product images, descriptions, and even pricing layouts. By analysing the data from these tests, they can identify the most effective combination and roll it out across their site.
Customer personalisation
Data also enables personalisation which is crucial for enhancing user experience. By leveraging customer data, businesses can create a range of personalised recommendations, offers, and content. This is a great way to increase engagement and boosts sales. Amazon uses data to recommend products based on a customer’s browsing and purchase history, which we also do here at Must Have Ideas. It’s this kind of approach that makes the shopping experience more relevant and enjoyable for the customer.
Making improvements and innovating
Data is not only useful for marketing and web optimisation, but also for making informed decisions regarding product ranges. Here at Must Have Ideas, by analysing sales data and the customer feedback that we receive (and actively encourage from our customers), not only can we identify opportunities for product improvements, but we can also identify opportunities for new products and ranges.
Sales data and customer service interactions provide us with valuable insights into product performance and customer satisfaction. By analysing this data, it’s possible to identify common issues and areas for improvement. If a particular product has a high return rate, we can investigate and make necessary adjustments to it. Similarly, if customers frequently raise queries about a specific feature or aspect of the product, it’s a signal for the us to enhance that feature or to provide improved information around its use, either in our instructions or on our website.
By analysing market trends, customer preferences and competitor products, businesses can identify gaps in the market and develop new products accordingly. For instance, a fitness retailer might discover a rising trend in home workouts from sales data and customer feedback. They may also discover a growing demand for compact, versatile fitness equipment suitable for small spaces. This newfound insight could lead to the development of a new product range tailored to this particular growing market.
Data driven decisions are necessary for any modern business to stay competitive and achieve long-term success. When interpreted correctly, data is essential for precise audience targeting, a personalised shopping experience and product innovation – ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction and in turn, increased revenue.
Amy Knight is a 27-year-old, disruptive entrepreneur, owner, founder and Director of Must Have Ideas, a leading UK e-commerce company generating an annual turnover of £65 Million.
Specialising primarily in problem-solving household solutions, what started with packing orders on her dining room table and storing stock in the spare room, has evolved into a thriving business with a 40,000 square ft distribution centre in Kent. The business now employs 135 people, dispatches around 7,000 orders a day and focusses on the highest standards of customer service.
Amy is a mother of two young children and lives with her husband and Must Have Ideas co-founder, Rob Knight in Maidstone. In 2023 she was added to the Forbes List – 30 Under 30 for Europe, Retail and E-commerce category. In 2024 Must Have Ideas achieved a place on The Sunday Times, 100 List of Fastest Growing UK Companies.
