Slate Analytics

Marketing intelligence takes many forms. The emergence of tracking technology created a sea of data points, and the promise of greater efficiencies and margins. But too often, marketers find themselves drowning in the sea of data, thirsting for knowledge.

A Custom Integrated Marketing Dashboard from Slate Analytics

An international franchise used Slate Analytics to provide a web based, integrated marketing dashboard. Each individual franchisee was able to log in and gather actionable intelligence on their particular territory. The dashboard made use of ‘Small Multiples‘ to keep users focused on the knowledge granting question: compared to what? With a consistent layout, the eye is drawn to differences in data, rather than differences in presentation. Meaningful conclusions from correlations or deviations leap off the page.

Instead of simple reporting on a single marketing channel, as is so often the case, the Integrated Marketing Dashboard was custom designed to aggregate the client’s available data – including activity from a home grown CRM system. Slate Analytics was able to leverage APIs for developed marketing channels with public information, and close the entire sales loop: from demographics to search; from search to click; from click to call; from call to CRM; and from CRM to sale.

The depth of integration was far greater than any other system used by the company, making use of disparate sources:

• SEM / PPC performance activity
• Web Analytics
• Search Engine Position Reports
• Call Center activity, including the ability to listen to recorded customer calls
• The company’s home grown CRM system – a unique challenge
• Territory maps, unique to the company’s franchises and organizational hierarchy
• US Census data, for demographic intelligence
• Franchise level marketing budgets
• Franchise level revenue

Integration doesn’t just describe data sources; all marketing stakeholders were united by this system. For the first time, the marketing agency, the company’s corporate headquarters, and all the individual franchises were on the same page.

By uniting so many data sources under one roof, the vast sea of data was transformed into refreshing, digestible glasses of knowledge. Corporate determined where to open new franchises and how to tailor the website for better search presence and visitor interests. Franchisees were able to access their own marketing activity without tapping the marketing agency or corporate. And the marketing agency was able to manage nearly a hundred individual budgets, and use predictive modeling to take advantage of opportunities and allocate media money most effectively.