6 things every agency wants from a data insights tool

According to a recent Vennli survey, 89 percent of agencies who win more than half of their new business pitches use primary research when developing their pitch. What’s more: Seventy percent of marketers now expect primary research to be evident in pitches from agencies.

So, how do agencies conduct the research necessary to consistently win new business?

Savvy marketers turn to a data insights tool. To gather the most compelling insights about a potential client’s brand, a data insights tool is necessary to build successful pitch strategies.

Here are six must-have features every agency should look for when picking a data insights tool:

1. Customer choice identification

When pitching brands for new business, your potential clients have a lot of agencies to choose from. You want to make sure your agency’s pitch stands above the rest by incorporating the factors that matter to the brand’s customers.

Data is the key. Knowing why customers choose a brand (or its competitors) gives you, as the agency, the ability to highlight a brand’s strengths within a pitch and develop a plan for addressing your potential clients’ place in the market, which is how you build a lasting competitive advantage.

2. Brand perception clarity

Agencies not only need to know their own strengths and weaknesses, but they must be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the brands they serve. They need detailed knowledge of how customers perceive their clients’ brands in order to drive unique marketing and product strategies.

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3. Intuitive reporting

Reporting ability is crucial: All the data in the world is worthless if it isn’t easily accessible and doesn’t offer the insight needed to make intelligent decisions. You need a tool that give users a turnkey snapshot of a brand’s performance, both independently and as it relates to competitors.

4. Segmentation analysis

Companies can learn a lot about their customers by segmenting demographics, but they can also make mistakes if their segmentation is sloppy. Look for a tool that can go beyond general demographics. Benefit segmentation analysis is an essential consideration when determining customer motivation.

5. Meaningful metrics

Most brands probably already have an idea of the customer metrics that matter to them.

Agencies can up the ante by presenting a fresh perspective on those metrics. Providing analytical insights by putting existing metrics under new microscopes—stacking them against a competitor or filtering them through a new segmentation of data to identify where a brand should (or should not) place its focus helps an agency differentiate itself from the competition.

6. Dynamic dashboard

If a data insights tool doesn’t provide an accessible, user-friendly experience, then all the other features won’t make any difference. Ease of use, flexibility and clear visualizations of data are critical pieces of any data insights tool.

Research shows that agencies need primary research in order to consistently win new business. Picking the right data insights tool is crucial to the health of your business. Make sure your agency chooses one with the features necessary to set itself apart from the competition.

Mary Claire Mandeville heads up Vennli's agency practice. Her experiences span from start-ups to corporations, from social entrepreneurship to financial institutions, and from Central America to back home in the US.

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