Let me start with a pet peeve!

I find the phrase “In a World…” like nails on a chalkboard. “In a world…” lines come from classic movie-trailer style voiceovers, popularized by Don LaFontaine, and they’ve become a meme format for over‑dramatic, often funny setups.

In marketing and advertising, it is so overused…

• In a world where marketing emails write themselves, one man still hits “send to all” by accident.

• In a world where every click is tracked, one marketer dares to fly blind.

• In a world full of gurus and growth hacks, one sales rep just picks up the phone.

• In a world where AI runs the ad auctions, one tiny budget fights for a single impression.

• In a world of endless dashboards, one CMO asks the forbidden question: “But did it actually sell anything?”

“In a World…” would have you believe that you (or the pragmatist) are fighting against the whole world to achieve objectives.

In reality, we are fighting ourselves.

Data

We have data bombarding us every day. It comes at us from everything. My new car is a perfect example. It has a built-in computer with a screen that spans two-thirds of the dashboard.

• I can see that 2 of my tires are 2 lbs lower on air pressure.
• My car is getting 42 mpg.
• It shows when the engine is charging the battery.
• And SO MUCH MORE.

Then add my iPhone that wirelessly connects via Apple CarPlay, and I have almost a data overload.

• It tracks my location and can even give directions.
• I have access to all my podcasts and the entire Apple Music Library.
• It pulls up my texts in real time, and I can reply via voice.
• Heck… it even opens and closes my garage door, hands-free.

My house has data. My computers have data. Heck, even my garage door and fridge have data. I am sure that I could get my car to manage the room temperature in my house, send notes to my computer, and even see what Kim is making for dinner.

The Problem with Too Much Data

The problem is not too much data; it's more about what we do with it. It's great to know my tires are low, but if I don't fill them, it's pointless.

That is the same for all the business data we get. Our website has data. Google Analytics has more data about our website. Our contact forms and CRM have data. Our email programs have data. And all of that data is as standalone as my car, home, computer, fridge, and garage door.

Sure, you can integrate data with APIs or tools like Zapier, but if you don't do something with it, the data becomes useless, like knowing my tires are 2 lbs lower on air pressure.

You can try to do data integration for free. You can also pay thousands per month for integration tools that promise detailed insights. All of that is pointless if you don't do something with the information being reported.

The Problem with Integration

When you take data from different sources and try to combine them to create more functional, usable data, you often compromise what the output shows you.

For example, we have a client who wanted to see which pages had the most hits last year. The main source of that data was Google Analytics, which provides traffic data but cannot easily differentiate between web pages and blog posts. (You would have to reclassify every blog post as /blog/*postname*, and that would be a chore with a 10-year-old website that was not set up that way.)

The other problem is that GA does not output links — it provides the path AFTER the main URL “/”.

The Custom Solution

Luckily, I work with an expert who is an Excel spreadsheet guru. What makes the custom solution tick is her ability to write formulas and macros that most people don't even know exist.

We created a custom solution that cost less than a couple of months of some more advanced third-party tools.

1. We exported a report using Perplexity that listed all the Pages and Posts URLs and added a column that designated whether they were saved as Page, Post, or Other.
2. There were 363 pages and 487 posts.
3. We exported a year's worth of analytics data from GA.
4. We utilized our Excel expert to use those two sources to create a report that only showed the 10 columns of data the client requested (rather than the dozens included in a GA report).

The result was the exact report, with only the columns the client requested. The only exception was that they wanted to know how many contact forms were filled out for each page. You can set that up with GA, but it has to be implemented from the start to capture that data.

One option would be to create a contact form link on every page, but 363 forms would be hard to track.

The other option is that WP Forms has a User Journey that can be tracked and shows the last page visited before the contact form was filled out. But often, people visit a blog, then hit the home page, and then fill out the form, which can skew the end report.

The bottom line is that if you know which outputs you want to review, you can set that up ahead of time; otherwise, you can only monitor changes from the default output. For example, at one point you may want to know about SEO's effectiveness, and now it's AEO. You can track Google Ads, but LinkedIn ads require more customization.

With a custom solution, you can sometimes pull data from multiple sources and synthesize the data you need for a report, but it takes time and experts who know how to manipulate the available data.

Closing Thought

The data that my car and home put out is relatively limited and finite. The data that internet marketing produces can be complex and overwhelming.

You can use out-of-the-box (subscription) solutions, but they may not give you the answers you need. They can also be complicated (like Zapier) and often pricy when you need more complex integrations.

Sometimes, it's just easier and more cost-effective to create a custom solution. We have created a website tracking code that outputs reports on people who hit a specific page. Then that data can be cross-referenced with accounting data, contact forms, email lists, and more to create better marketing data that can help you close more sales.

Now, if you will excuse me… I have to go make sure the tires on my car are all properly inflated!

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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.