Data Opinions foreword
No-one would argue today that data isn’t one of the main tools of the modern marketer. Many marketers will not be data experts, though, and all have scope to improve their knowledge, which is where these essays can help.
The increasing use of data means it is imperative to surround yourself with people who can teach and
learn from each other that data is creative as well as functional. Likewise, forming the connections, both internally and externally, with the partners who can help you use it is now one of the marketer’s most important networking tasks.
It’s not always clear how to go about these things, however, which is why Marketing Week has put together this guide to help both the uninitiated and the advanced data marketer, dealing with exactly these issues.
That’s not all. Perhaps more than any other area of data-driven marketing, that which has come to be called ‘big data’ is apt to cause confusion. It is often talked about, but it is rarely explained what it is, what it does, or how it could produce tangible returns for a business.
So it should be refreshing that, within this supplement, there is highly practical advice available for understanding how much value it could create for your business. Being able to add together real-time insights from big data with CRM or third-party information could be the factor that puts your understanding of your customers ahead of your competitors’.
But there is also a reminder here that you cannot forget the basics. You can’t stop demanding close attention to data quality from your organisation and you can’t stop working with data to improve the effectiveness of established channels such as email.There is potential in data of all kinds and all levels of complexity. We’re here to help you find it.
Michael Barnett, supplements editor, Marketing Week
