In this edition, we will focus on marketing analytics as the theme of our

project. Today’s episode will provide a brief overview of what the series
entails and introduce the business problem we aim to solve in this data
analyst portfolio project. If you haven’t set up your practice environment
yet, be sure to check out the setup video linked in the description below to
follow along with the series.
Series Overview
Before diving into today’s content, let’s go over what to expect in this
series.
In today’s episode, we will explore the marketing analytics business
case to understand the project objectives, key metrics, and other important
aspects.
In the next episode, we’ll get more technical by focusing on extracting
and cleaning marketing data using SQL.
In the third episode, we will enhance the marketing data by applying
sentiment analysis using Python.
The fourth episode will be all about creating a marketing analytics
dashboard in Power BI, where we’ll build interactive reports and
dashboards for end users.
In the fifth episode, we’ll focus on presenting marketing analytics
insights in PowerPoint, emphasizing data storytelling and presentation
skills.
Finally, the sixth episode will guide you on showcasing your marketing
analytics portfolio. This will include tips on presenting your work during
job interviews or other professional conversations to effectively highlight
your achievements in this project.
Introduction to the Business Problem
Before diving into the technical aspects of our project, it’s essential to
understand the business problem we’re trying to solve. This step helps us
align with the stakeholders' expectations, identify challenges, and establish
a direction for the analysis.
In this project, we are addressing a marketing analytics business case
involving Shop E, an online retail business. Despite launching several new
online marketing campaigns, the company is experiencing reduced
customer engagement and conversion rates. They have reached out for help
in conducting a detailed analysis to identify areas for improvement in their
marketing strategies.

Key Challenges
Here are the main challenges faced by Shop E, as outlined in the business
case:
 1. Reduced Customer Engagement
There has been a decline in the number of customer interactions and
engagement with the website and marketing content.
2. Decreased Conversion Rates
A smaller proportion of site visitors are converting into paying
customers.
3. High Marketing Expenses
Significant investments in marketing campaigns are not delivering the
expected returns.
4. Need for Customer Feedback Analysis
Understanding customer opinions about products and services is
crucial to improving engagement and conversion rates.

Exercise for Engagement

To better grasp the business problem, I encourage you to approach this as
an exercise. Take the business case, identify the key challenges, and
highlight the important points that require focus. For instance, consider
aspects like the reduced engagement, poor conversion rates, or high
marketing expenses.
If you’d like, you can download a clean version of the presentation from my
GitHub (linked in the description) and highlight the points you find most
significant. Once you’ve done that, compare your highlights with the ones
I’ve marked to see how your perspective aligns with mine. Treat this as a
small exercise to help you think critically about the business challenges
before moving into the technical details.
In the next segment, we’ll begin addressing these challenges step by step,
starting with data extraction and cleaning.
Email from the Marketing Manager
Let’s delve deeper into the business problem with additional
correspondence from Jane Doe, the Marketing Manager at Shop E:
Hi Data Analyst,
I hope this email finds you well. I'm the Marketing Manager at Shop E. We've
been facing some challenges with our marketing campaigns lately, and I'm
reaching out to request your expertise in data analysis to help us identify
areas for improvement.
Despite our increased investment in marketing, we've observed a decline in
customer engagement and conversion rates. Our marketing expenses have
gone up, but the return on investment isn't meeting our expectations.
We need a comprehensive analysis to understand the effectiveness of our
current strategies and to find opportunities to optimize our efforts. We have
data from various sources, including customer reviews, social media
comments, and campaign performance metrics. Your insights will be
invaluable in helping us turn the situation around.
Looking forward to your response.
Jane Doe
Key points to note from this email include:
 Challenges with marketing campaigns.
 Decline in customer engagement and conversion rates.
 Increased marketing expenses with unsatisfactory ROI.
 The need for a comprehensive analysis of current strategies.
 Availability of diverse data sources (e.g., customer reviews, social
media comments, campaign performance metrics).

Email from the Customer Experience Manager

Another perspective comes from John Smith, the Customer Experience
Manager, who highlights issues related to customer feedback:
Hi Data Analyst,
I'm the Customer Experience Manager at Shop E, and I'm writing to seek
your help with analyzing our customer feedback. Over the past few months,
we've noticed a drop in customer engagement and satisfaction, which is
impacting our overall conversion rates.
We've gathered a significant amount of customer reviews and social media
comments that highlight various issues and sentiments. We believe that by
thoroughly analyzing this feedback, we can gain a better understanding of
our customers’ needs and pain points.
Your expertise in data analysis will be crucial in helping us decode this
feedback and provide actionable insights. We hope this will guide us in
improving our customer experience and ultimately boost our engagement
and conversion rates.
Thank you for your assistance.
John Smith
Key points to highlight from this email:
 A drop in customer engagement and satisfaction impacting
conversion rates.
 A large dataset of customer reviews and social media comments.
 Focus on understanding customer needs and pain points.
 The importance of actionable insights for enhancing customer
experience and boosting engagement and conversions.

The Importance of Understanding the Problem

Both emails emphasize the critical challenges Shop E is facing, particularly
around engagement, satisfaction, and conversion rates. By synthesizing
these perspectives, we gain clarity on the project’s objectives and the scope
of work. This stage of understanding and direction-setting is crucial for
successfully tackling the technical aspects later.
As a next step, treat these emails as an exercise. Highlight the parts you
find most important and compare them with the points above. This practice
helps build a solid understanding of the business problem, ensuring the
technical analysis aligns with the stakeholders’ needs.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
As part of this project, we’ve identified some key performance indicators
(KPIs) relevant to marketing analytics. While you don’t need to memorize
them, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with what they measure and their
purpose. These KPIs include:
1. Conversion Rate – Measures the percentage of visitors who
complete a desired action, such as making a purchase.
2. Customer Engagement Rate – Tracks how actively customers
interact with marketing content.
3. Average Order Value – Calculates the average amount spent per
transaction.
4. Customer Feedback Score – Evaluates customer satisfaction based
on reviews and feedback.
Stakeholders might already use some of these KPIs, so it’s worth discussing
their existing metrics to align your analysis with their practices. These KPIs
will play a vital role in the later stages of the project.

Data Sources and Tables

We’ll be working with several data sources and tables during this project.
These include:
1. Customer Journey Table
Tracks customer movements through the website, enabling analysis
of the conversion funnel.
2. Engagement Data Table
Measures engagement with various types of marketing content.
3. Customer Reviews Table
Contains feedback to identify common themes and sentiments.
4. Customer, Geography, and Products Tables
Provide additional context and are used as lookup tables.
The data sources are categorized into two types:
 Fact Tables (Yellow) – Used for calculations and performance
metrics.
 Lookup Tables (Turquoise) – Provide descriptive attributes, such as
customer demographics or product details.
Understanding the structure of these tables will be crucial when we begin
building relationships and performing calculations.

Goals and Insights

To guide our analysis, we’ve outlined some key goals and the insights
required to achieve them:
1. Increase Conversion Rates
o Goal: Identify factors impacting conversion rates and suggest
improvements.
o Insight: Highlight key stages where visitors drop off and
recommend strategies to optimize the conversion funnel.
2. Enhance Customer Engagement
o Goal: Determine which types of content drive the highest
engagement.
o Insight: Analyze interaction levels with different marketing
content to inform better content strategies.
3. Improve Customer Feedback Scores
o Goal: Understand common themes in customer reviews to
provide actionable insights.
o Insight: Identify recurring positive and negative feedback to
guide product and service improvements.
While we may not achieve every goal in this project, these examples offer a
framework for thinking about objectives and aligning them with actionable
insights.

What’s Next
This concludes the introduction to our Marketing Analytics Business
Case. The information and structure provided here should help you think
critically about the challenges and goals before we dive into the technical
work.
In the next episode, we’ll focus on extracting and cleaning marketing
data using SQL. If you’re following along, check the video description for a
link to the presentation, which you can use for exercises like highlighting
key points.
Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss
the next episode. If you have questions or comments, feel free to share
them below. Thank you for watching, and see you in the next part of the
series!