Marketers make intelligence choice

Customer insight not only allows brands to inject science into the art of marketing, a background in data offers marketers the quickest route to a board-level role.

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Career advancement
In the end, it will be the board the marketer has to report to and prove that the funds allocated to customer intelligence were worth it. Forrester’s Frankland says that without an in-depth knowledge of customer intelligence, marketers will not be able to advance their careers. This is why those in charge of the data will rise to the top of the organisation.

He cautions: “Customer intelligence is a discipline in the making and marketers have to acknowledge this. The future of marketing will lie in the people who can collect the data, scrutinise it and use it for their own commercial gain. Any marketers looking to hold onto the old school beliefs will not become a CMO. Only those who access the data correctly and leverage it well will be looked on favourably by the boards in the future.” 

What is Customer Intelligence?

Forrester defines customer intelligence as “the management and analysis of customer data from all sources”. It is designed to give organisations the opportunity to inject science into the art of marketing, to leverage information that improves customer experiences and to use customer knowledge to boost business performance.

The functions under the umbrella of customer intelligence include market research, direct marketing, marketing analytics, web analytics and optimisation, consumer feedback and listening, database marketing, and competitive intelligence.

Customer intelligence is growing in importance within companies as it is driven by the convergence of limited consumer tolerance for marketing; technologically and socially empowered consumers; and the increase in demand for marketing accountability.

Facts & figures

Which of the following functions exist at your company?

Competitive intelligence 64%

Database marketing 75%

Customer feedback/listening 78%

Web analytics/optimisation 80%

Marketing analytics 80%

Direct marketing 83%

Market research 84%