Big data may be the biggest (and most unhelpful) buzz word in marketing now but – as everyone will acknowledge – getting it right is tricky.
Our research, carried out in conjunction with The Customer Framework, finds that those brands that have been successful in turning big data into smart data have four common ingredients.
The responses are based on replies from 47 WFA member companies, representing $35bn in annual marketing investment. Ninety four percent of those who responded had a high or medium involvement in data issues within their company.
The first key ingredient is talent. Finding the marketers with the right analytical skill sets is critical to identifying truly actionable insights. Nearly half our respondents found that finding business analysts and data scientists good enough to produce such insights was a significant problem.
The second key ingredient for success is clarity and focus. The most successful respondents in our survey were those who identified a clear purpose to their exploration of big data. Because every company has access to a multitude of different data sources of varying quality and ownership, the absence of a ‘purpose’ or hypothesis can lead to wasted investment. Among our respondents 61% claim to have a clear definition of the purpose of ‘big data’.
The third key ingredient is that big data is just that - big. Starting work with small data sets can enable marketers to more easily meet with success in identify insights that can be applied across the business. This helps to demonstrate that it’s worth investing more in the right people and tools. It also allows marketers to boost their expertise and enable them to ensure that work on larger and more disparate data sets truly generates better commercial insights.
The final ingredient in the recipe for smart data is consumer insight. While big data is a powerful tool to identify insights in itself, brands still need to be mindful that whatever the data may say, they still have to ensure that timely and relevant messaging is engaging and welcome. After all, all the data in the world won’t make an unwelcome message effective.
Ultimately smart data (and the business success that it generates) is driven by the right people with a clear focus on what they are trying to achieve.