• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, October 16, 2014

Marketers want -- even need -- data and analytics, but perhaps they are looking in the wrong places, or not looking at all.

Nearly all (96%) of marketers believe the “ability to make data-informed decisions is their most-needed capability to respond effectively to disruptions,” according to new survey results by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). However, over one-third of companies are not using data to make decisions, while nearly half say they don’t have the right analytics in place, per the survey results.

Data has been called the true currency of media, but the disconnect between what marketers say about data and what marketers actually do about data is clear. And this report from the ANA is not the first time the disconnect has come to light -- it has been documented before.

ANA surveyed 374 client-side marketers online between August and September 2014 for the study. Respondents included members of the ANA survey community, ANA members, and supporting partners. One-third of responds were B2B marketers, one-third were B2C, and the remaining third marketers to both businesses and consumers. ANA says the majority of respondents were senior-level marketers with an average of 30 years working in the industry.

"Big Data" image via Shutterstock.