Measuring Omnichannel Marketing

The Guest

Kevin Hillstrom is president of Mine That Data, a consultancy that helps CEOs understand how customers interact with advertising, products, brands, and channels by using sophisticated and proprietary analytics tools forged during his 25 year career in the retail industry. He’s been a VP of database marketing at Nordstrom, the Director of circulation for Eddie Bauer, manager of analytical services for Land’s End, and countless other roles and he’s here today to talk about measuring omnichannel marketing.

The Interview

Kevin Hillstrom has an extensive background and career in analytics that’s traversed industries as diverse as agriculture, apparel, automotive, and more, all of it branching out from his undergraduate degree in statistics.

“It wasn’t easy finding a job out of college that wasn’t connected to the government,” explains Kevin. “That’s how I found myself doing analytics for corn and sorghum, which oddly enough has a lot of overlapping themes with marketing. After a few years in the fields, I went to Land’s End and then Nordstrom, and my main bent was trying to use statistics to better understand customer behaviors.”

One of the more profound insights Kevin experienced as he pivoted his statistical skills into marketing, was translating what the data was telling him to stakeholders and those not trained in data analysis.

“One thing I learned was the data was nice, but the real traction only occurred when I was able to relate my findings to the leadership team,” confesses Kevin. “If you can’t convince the stakeholders of what the data is telling you, you got nothing. Times change, but data-driven decision making is eternal. A person familiar with analytics is going to fall into rabbit holes that they find interesting, but that might not necessarily be interesting to the leadership team, who does not spend their days working with spreadsheets. So being able to translate data to those not literate in data is really the key skill to develop.”

Kevin then goes on to describe the barriers preventing marketers and data teams from connecting with the C-Suite.

“Preconceived notions and a lack of humility and curiosity are generally the driving forces that prevent marketing teams from taking data and turning it into usable insights,” says Kevin. “Most leadership staff have familiarity with data, but they bring a lot of preconceptions that can barricade their curiosity. The more humble a leadership team is, the more accepting they are of the data, and the more energy they bring to identifying the right problems and conceptualizing the proper solutions.”

The interview then dips into the power of creativity and WOM, how the algebra of loyalty impacts buyer behaviors and revenue, and Kevin shares a few Cinderella stories (and horror stories) about clients that both took his advice, and ignored it, to their respective benefit and detriment. To hear these stories and learn how your team can better use data and marketing analytics, listen to the show at the links provided above and below. 

The Links

Mine That Data
Kevin on Twitter

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