“Globally, the data-driven marketing industry spent $20 billion on data in 2018.”

Data-driven marketing comes with challenges, but is worth the time and energy.

Of that $20 billion, the United states holds the largest data market ranking, contributing $12 billion to that total. Data is undoubtedly the now and future of marketing.

Strategically, data allows marketers to personalize messages and hand-craft experiences based on the end-user’s preferences. (This is also in part due to technological advancements such as variable data printing which makes the data insertion appear seamless.)

What’s more is that data allows businesses to improve their products or services based on feedback provided by customers and the data they receive about performance. Additionally, instead of making assumptions about who is using their products or how much traffic their landing pages are getting, data delivers crystal clear and quantifiable numbers.

But… (there’s always a “but”).

With increased availability and use comes additional challenges as well…

  1. Most would agree that choosing, keeping up on, and utilizing new technologies is one of the toughest obstacles because it is generally a moving target.
  2. Choosing which channels are most effective and appropriate for your datasets and for your objectives is equally challenging.
  3. Testing both traditional and digital campaigns over time affects long-term performance — which means you’re gathering even more data.
  4. Is all of that data clean? Data requires maintenance to keep it updated and fresh so that your efforts are accurate and efficient.

Nearly all businesses have these challenges at some level. But to gain a competitive advantage, tackle this toughie: get your teams talking.

Data often is not employed properly, to its full extent, or even at all due to the silo effect that often exists within organizations. Multiple departments may be able to provide data while only some are able to assess it or use it to make and act on marketing recommendations. On top of this, you may have an outside party contributing as well. This process can easily turn into a whisper-down-the-lane scenario, losing precious human insight along the way.

How do we fix it?

Get your data-brains and creative-minds in the same room as you move down the path. Conversations will open doors: someone might not know that certain advertising techniques or tools exist. Someone else may not realize that certain data is even available to them.

98% of global mobile marketers have increased their focus and investment on data in the past 5 years. Of those marketers, 96% agreed that brand marketers would benefit from adopting the data expertise of performance marketers, and 91% said performance marketers need to adopt the positioning and creative expertise of brand marketers.

Know that data marketing is a real commitment, one that requires an investment of time and money. It’s worth it to foster the internal collaboration to support it.

How can you better leverage your data? Contact us today to set up a one-on-one webinar to discuss your goals and options.