Marketers must harness data explosion
Michael Nutley’s article on why marketers must look to new places to turn data into treasure (MWlinks.co.uk/DataTreasure) fails to address how we harness this explosion of data and use it as a marketing tool.
It is true that we know more than ever before about our consumers and that as the number of platforms through which you communicate with customers expands, so will this wealth of information.
From an outsider’s perspective, the view that digital marketing will never reach stability because of this would be a fair assessment. The good news is that we’re seeing a level of maturity in the industry and marketers are beginning to take on the challenge of translating this data into something meaningful – the ‘single customer view’.
Once an informed and rounded customer view is established – by encompassing all of the data touchpoints we encounter in today’s consumer worlds – brands find themselves in a stronger position to offer the right product, on the right platform, at the right time with quantifiable results.
An effective multichannel approach can provide startling results, a development that will continue apace once businesses thrash out how to analyse their data.
Jon Buss, managing director, Experian Digital Marketing Services
As Michael Nutley points out, brands have never known more about the people buying their products thanks to the internet. So why not, in the areas of marketing that are geared around digital and provide the transparency to measure success, take a few risks and try something new?
Innovating in new areas using the cost per acquisition metric of performance-based marketing allows brands to build an informed picture of the activities and channels that motivates consumers to open their wallets.
Using this information, they can replicate this success across the channels that perform. Effective measurement isn’t just about reporting on how well you did, but also on how successfully you apply what you learned.
Gary Bicker, UK country manager, Affilinet
