Data has changed the very essence of marketing. With virtually every aspect of a consumer’s life trackable in one way or another, marketers have never before had so much raw intelligence at their disposal. The power to create exceptional customer experiences, leading to increased customer acquisition, retention and engagement, is at hand.
Yet we know that the majority of organizations are not currently capitalizing on the full potential of data and analytics. In fact, a recent Forbes Insights report noted that 22 percent of marketing executives characterized their data-driven efforts as sporadic or nonexistent while almost half of the executives stated that their efforts are lagging or siloed.
To help more organizations succeed in their data-driven efforts, here are several themes and key success factors that are shared by organizations that lead in data- and analytics-driven marketing.
Strategic Alignment
First and foremost, organizations must ensure they are clear on their business objectives and challenges. Any planned analytics initiatives should focus on a desired, measurable outcome that addresses the highest priority issues.
Data Centralization
Disparate data sources across departmental silos are a common roadblock to effective data and analytics-driven marketing. Organizations must overcome legacy data “fiefdoms” to centralize these sources and realistically assess the data’s reliability and validity. Gaps in the data foundation should be supplemented with quality second- and third-party data, as well as proper governance and oversight.
Senior Leadership
Developing a data- and analytics-oriented culture is a transformational shift that is virtually impossible without senior management buy-in and leadership. Secure their commitment (and that of any other key senior stakeholders) before starting so that any required resources will be available to support the initiative.
Actionable Insight
Often the most challenging aspect of data-driven marketing is consistently turning raw data into insights that can address business challenges – in other words, generating business intelligence around customers and their behaviours that can be used to drive revenue opportunities and achieve other corporate priorities. Think of data-driven insight as “statistical storytelling,” which should underpin all marketing activity.
Appropriate Resources
Whether using internal or external resources, successful data-driven organizations focus on having the right people and the right tools. Modern marketers must love data and be as comfortable with the quantitative elements of their profession as the traditional qualitative aspects. They need to work effectively and speak the language of business strategists, analysts and IT leaders to get results.
Execution and Measurement
The crux of any data-driven initiative is to provide direction on organizational action. This means not only designing the campaigns where data analysis has been planned upfront – not as an afterthought or add-on – but also providing guidance on tracking and measurement. A continuous measurement plan that tests a variety of methodologies ensures an iterative cycle of optimization grounded in quantitative metrics.
Knowledge Mobilization
Successful organizations aim to democratize data, disseminate insights across departments and evangelize the benefits of data-driven decision making (ideally backed up with results). By making this intelligence available to as broad a group of stakeholders as is appropriate, more executives become familiar and comfortable with data and its applications.
Continuous Innovation
Being a data-driven marketing organization means not only a commitment to customer centricity but also the pursuit of relentless innovation. Neither data nor analytics are static, and organizations must avoid doing what’s always been done at the risk of jeopardizing marketing results based on outdated intelligence. Marketing agility necessitates exploring ways of doing things better and, if need be, to change and shift course based on both quantitative and qualitative data.
By integrating data and analytics, organizations can create better customer experiences, produce a better return on their marketing investment and achieve their objectives.
Jan Kestle is the president and founder of Environics Analytics
