Commentary
Data Matters; A Central Pillar Of Business
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 18, 2016
Last year, according to the Global Alliance of Data-Driven Marketing Associations (GDMA), and the Winterberry Group, the clear and unambiguous declaration about the role of information in supporting marketing and advertising around the world was that Data matters!
This year, after nearly 3,000 marketers, service providers and other global industry participants lent their insights, the message is equally clear says the report: Not only does data matter, but it’s coming to represent a central pillar of marketing, advertising and customer experience practice, around the globe.
Change In Revenues By Data-Driven Marketing Activity, Q3 2015 | |
Activity Change | % of Respondents |
Increase significantly | 11.3% |
Increase somewhat | 42.0 |
No change | 42.0 |
Decrease somewhat | 3.7 |
Decrease significantly | 1.0 |
Source: Winterberry Group/GDMA, December 2015 | |
The second annual survey of data-driven marketers, service providers and technologists across 17 global markets revealed that:
Data Matters More: Among nearly 3,000 experienced marketing and advertising practitioners across 17 global markets, 81.3% described data as important to their efforts, representing an increase from 80.4% who said the same one year ago. 59.3%, versus 57.1% last year went so far as to call it “critical” to their efforts, further underscoring the growing role that data plays in driving audience engagement strategies and efforts
The Customer is King: For the second year in a row, global panelists said their desire to be “customer-centric” is fueling their DDMA efforts more than any other single priority. And 91.8% of panelists said their efforts are at least partially focused on “maintaining customer databases,” representing the most common global DDMA use case. And 90.2% of panelists, say they’re focused on deploying predictive analytics and segmentation to better target and engage key audiences
Looking to “Buy” Data: Look carefully, says the report. Though DDMA practitioners around the globe are almost universally focused on collecting and managing data about their customers, far fewer practitioners are engaged in the use of “third-party” data. Roughly three-quarters of panelists in the United Kingdom and United States said they remain confident in the practice of DDMA and its potential for future growth.
Extent to Which Company Practices Select Areas of Data Driven Marketing (% of Respondents) | |||
Company Practice | Sophisticated Practitioner | Some Extent | Not At All |
Maintain Databases to host information | 53.4 | 38.9 | 7.8 |
Segment data to best target B2B audience | 50.5 | 40.2 | 9.4 |
Measure campaign results across individual channels | 50.5 | 39.9 | 9.9 |
Measure across multiple marketing channels | 39.1 | 46.9 | 14.3 |
Purchase 3rd party data | 32.9 | 40.9 | 26.0 |
Source: Winterberry Group/GDMA, December 2015 | |||
For additional information from the Winterberry Group, please visit here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
Yep, "data" sure can be important in guiding marketing decisions. Even better is getting smart business execs who have a clue what the "data" means--if anything--- to work for your company.