• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 2, 2015

Companies often talk about the massive teams of data scientists and the terabytes of data they process, but the complexity in the volume of digital data from search to content often leaves them overwhelmed and underserved. Some 89% of marketers that tell Experian Data Services they have trouble achieving one customer view blame it on poor data quality, silos, and inability to link different technologies.

One company built what it calls a virtual team of data scientists into its platform to bring actionable insights to marketers. BrightEdge calls the feature Data Quant. It also added Anomaly Detection, which allows Jesse Farley, SEO manager at Cabelas, to do a better job at planning the type of content the company needs. Cabelas uses Anomaly Detection to identify the effectiveness of keywords and where marketers need to make adjustments.

The shift from print to digital may have been a major initiative for Cabelas, according to Farley. "Building a successful content program, that goes beyond product pages to offer interesting and informative content, is driven by using data to better understand audience and demand," he said.

For example, not everyone visits a retailer's Web site just to purchase a tent. They want to research and learn about a certain type of tent for a specific trip, then make a purchase, Farley explains. Cabelas wants to make sure their content connects with its customers' interests, so they can engage them with the right information at the right point in the buying cycle. 

Incredible as it may seem, more than five exabytes of digital data are created every two days from a variety of sources. Much of this disparate data gets unused. Analyst firm IDC reports only 0.5% of the world's data is analyzed.

The national average salary of a data scientist is $118,000, but the cost can rise to $126,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Glassdoor. Data scientists can earn as much as $200,000 annually.

Limitless information can limit progress. Marketers know they need data for success and know where to find it, but lack resource and time to turn that data into actionable campaigns. Without finding a way to make sense of the data the brand can lose market share.

PenWell Media manages nearly 15,000 pieces of content each month, according to Michael Kirchhoff, director of SEO and product support for the company, making it virtually impossible for its small team of three people to deal with it without technology.

"Uncovering performance shifts require intense data analysis that many marketers simply don't have the time or resources to support," said Jim Yu, CEO at BrightEdge.