March 1, 2023

How to Use Data Mapping for Deeper Report Insights

RevOps specialists rely heavily on data mapping as a crucial tool for making informed decisions, obtaining actionable insights, and enhancing their data-driven strategies. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the fundamentals of data mapping and provide you with expert tips on how to effectively implement it in HubSpot CRM to optimize the value of your data.

What is Data Mapping?

Data mapping is the process of connecting two different data sets to gain insight into their relationship. In data mapping, you take information from one data set and connect it to another – for example, linking web traffic data with customer segmentation data. By creating these connections and mapping out your data, you can understand trends in your users’ behavior and adjust your strategies accordingly.

By using effective data mapping techniques, you can pinpoint which customer segment boasts the highest conversion rate, which content resonates best with each segment, and the rate at which new customers are acquired in comparison to returning ones. With this valuable insight, you can tailor your marketing strategy to target your efforts where they will be most impactful, ensuring optimal revenue attribution.

As data mapping continues to evolve, it will provide even deeper insights into customer behavior, giving companies a competitive edge.

Free RevOps Guide: Deploy an Effective Revenue Strategy for Your Scaling  Business.

Benefits of Data Mapping for Marketing, Sales, and Revenue Teams

Data mapping allows you to connect the dots between marketing, sales, and revenue, enabling you to make smarter decisions that directly impact your bottom line. With real-time insights, you can skillfully target the right customers and optimize their experience with personalized content, offers, and incentives.

A solid data mapping strategy empowers marketers to anticipate customer needs, optimize market spend, and increase ROI, driving long-term growth.

This backend structure not only simplifies accessing and analyzing customer behavior data, but it also helps you compare performance metrics with key competitors. By quickly uncovering which strategies and tactics are most effective, you can focus your resources on what’s working and gain valuable insights into consumer preferences and purchasing behaviors. These insights can be used to develop more targeted marketing campaigns and create personalized experiences across the customer journey.

In short, data mapping is a powerful tool that empowers marketers, sales leaders, and operations professionals to understand their customers better, align activities with revenue objectives, and drive long-term growth.

What Different Types of Data Can be Mapped?

Data mapping can track various data points, including customer demographics, purchase history, usage patterns, website behavior, and more. Data mapping can also help you identify gaps in your current marketing strategies by understanding how users interact with your website or social media pages on a deeper level. Data mapping also offers valuable insights into market trends and competitor strategies that you may otherwise overlook. With these types of insights, marketers can navigate the ever-changing digital landscape much more efficiently.

With data mapping, you can track customer behavior and preferences at the individual level by gathering internal and external information. Depending on the type of business, internal-facing data may include customer insights such as demographics, purchase history, or website behavior. External information includes market trends, competitor strategies, or changes in the industry that could affect your current initiatives. 

For instance, if a marketer wants to know how many leads from a specific campaign successfully converted into customers, they can pull that data from the map with just a few clicks. This lets them quickly view trends and responses along the full buying cycle to help refine daily marketing and RevOps workflows.

How to Identify Gaps and Opportunities in Your Current Strategy 

When creating a data mapping strategy, it’s important to consider any gaps or opportunities in your current marketing and sales processes. Analyzing and visualizing your customer's data can help you identify key areas, such as segments and channels, where there’s room for improvement. By understanding what’s missing, you can better strategize your plans and prioritize the data that will be most valuable to your team.

To properly identify these gaps and opportunities, start by making a list of all your sales channels. This could include markets, digital and physical stores, partners, or distributors.

Compile data points for each channel, including customer shopping habits and feedback on satisfaction and loyalty. Digital mapping tools like charts and diagrams make it easier to visualize and determine which channels need enhancement to meet strategic goals.

Free RevOps Guide: Deploy an Effective Revenue Strategy for Your Scaling  Business.

Why is Data Mapping Essential to HubSpot Reporting?

Effective data mapping in HubSpot CRM allows for more accurate conclusions about customer behavior and trends, leading to actionable insights for improving website engagement and targeted campaigns.

Data mapping in Operations Hub can help optimize campaigns and customer experiences by providing deeper insights into user behavior. By connecting data points across various platforms, you can gain a more holistic understanding of customer journeys and improve customer retention. You can then apply these findings to create personalized experiences based on each individual’s needs.

Data mapping helps the CRM develop more dynamic relationships between objects, campaigns, and databases, allowing for better use of resources and more cost-efficient marketing efforts. Then, you can tailor messaging to reach the right people at the right time, increasing website interaction and engagement with potential customers.

How to Start Data Mapping in HubSpot CRM

Mapping your data in HubSpot is a breeze:

  • Start by selecting a report to examine in your HubSpot account, then locate the "Map" icon above the chart on the left-hand side of the screen.
  • Clicking this icon will open up a range of data mapping options that allow you to compare different sets of data points to reveal fresh insights into customer behavior.
  • Finally, choose an option from the list to see how various data pieces interact with each other in your reports.

With just a few clicks, you can uncover vital insights that will help you optimize your marketing strategies and improve customer engagement.

After activating data mapping in HubSpot, the associated chart will dynamically update according to the specific parameters you choose. This provides a powerful visualization of how different sets of data relate to each other. For example, if your report is tracking monthly sales growth, create a map comparing monthly sales with activities like website visits or email opens. Identifying correlations between these different types of data can help inform your decisions, such as which marketing tactics are most effective and when buyers are likely to purchase.

Data Mapping Tool

HubSpot's data mapping tool makes it easy to share this information with colleagues by exporting the chart directly into your account or downloading it as an image to reference later. Armed with this knowledge, business owners and marketers can use data mapping to identify new opportunities for improvement and optimize their strategies in the future.

Tips for Building Mature Data Maps in HubSpot CRM

When it comes to building mature data maps in HubSpot, the possibilities are endless. HubSpot's advanced mapping feature allows users to create connections between different datasets and attributes easily. In addition to customizing elements such as relationships and hierarchies, marketeers can also add in custom fields from third-party applications like Salesforce and Marketo. 

Maximize HubSpot's data mapping capabilities with a focused strategy. Determine the key performance indicators for your business, create a detailed data map outlining relationships, and take advantage of advanced features to streamline customer-facing operations. With HubSpot's intuitive drag-and-drop interface, mapping data points and forming successful marketing and sales strategies is easy.

Every business is different and crosses multiple niches; as such, creating custom maps tailored to your individual needs can make all the difference when acquiring valuable insights. With these tips in mind, exploring customer behavior by creating mapped visualizations within HubSpot can be a game-changer for your teams.

Key Considerations for Setting Up Your Dashboard

When it comes to setting up your dashboard, there are a few key points that should be considered:

  • Having an effective layout will make it easier to digest, analyze and act on the data presented in the dashboard.
  • The color palette and font size can also dramatically affect how well the user is able to interpret the information provided.
  • Lastly, selecting the right metrics and making them prominent on dashboards will ensure they are monitored effectively and any data-driven decisions are based on accurate information.

When it comes to designing your dashboard, ensuring the data is presented in a way that’s easy to read, digest and interpret should be at the forefront of your considerations. Data mapping is key and having a clear hierarchical structure with well-defined categories will give your dashboard structure.

Additional features such as filtering options, display formats, color codes, navigation pathways, and UX/UI elements should also be considered to ensure users can effectively navigate through the dashboard and gain actionable insights from the data.

Free RevOps Guide: Deploy an Effective Revenue Strategy for Your Scaling  Business.

KPIs are the North Star for Data Mapping

Once the visual elements have been established, map out the data and ensure that the metrics, KPIs, and charts are presented effectively and accurately. The dashboard should tell a story about the data, presenting key insights in a concise manner so users can quickly grasp what’s going on with the company.

A good starting point is to research industry best practices, as well as identify any KPIs or metrics that are currently being used within your team. Identifying which key elements should be highlighted can then be considered – such as highlighting thresholds or trends – which should provide valuable insight when driving business decisions forward.

Setting up an effective and efficient dashboard requires careful consideration when selecting data, choosing a layout and color palette as well as how the data should be presented. This process includes element mapping, which helps to ensure the dashboard reflects all relevant KPIs or metrics that have been identified.

Once these steps have been completed the next step is to decide which key elements need to be highlighted on the dashboard, such as thresholds or trends, to get actionable insights from the data presented. Following these points will help set up a strong and useful dashboard that can be used effectively by users.

Preparing to Analyze Your CRM Data

Before you can analyze and report on your data, ensure that all key stakeholders within the company have visibility into how data-related decisions are being made, further emphasizing the need for data mapping. Additionally, a detailed understanding of data integrity will enable informed conversations among departments for cross-functional collaboration.

Correct irregularities, duplicates, missing values, and incorrect data types before analysis. This can uncover hidden potential savings or opportunities. Assess if architecture changes are needed for scalability. Identify data points for reporting and choose the best format, such as tables, graphs, or online dashboards.

Such visualizations can bring clarity and actionable insight from analyzing the data across multiple dimensions such as geography and organizational structure. With this understanding comes improved decision-making capability, like optimized lead routing, focusing on achieving key business objectives while providing timely accuracy and relevance of the mapped datasets.

The Takeaway

Data mapping is a critical process that demands time, research, and planning. However, it presents an opportunity for data-driven decision-making, which can make a significant difference between success and failure. It helps the CRM do what it does best: scrutinize data to help us discover new ways of gathering pivotal information from diverse sources.

By leveraging data mapping, decision-makers can easily identify patterns in their data, enabling them to focus on what matters and disregard what does not.

Ultimately, effective data mapping is the engine that outputs precise and accurate insights that guide future action. And to not take advantage is a missed opportunity. 

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Guido Bartolacci

Guido is Head of Product and Growth Strategy for New Breed. He specializes in running in-depth demand generation programs internally while assisting account managers in running them for our clients.

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