‘Big Data’ might well have been the biggest buzzword of 2012, but it was with good reason. According to a recent report from industry analyst firm IDC, if you are an adult between the ages of 45 and 59, you create 1.8 million gigabytes of data about yourself each year. This is on top of the 4.1 million gigabytes of ambient information that already exists about you in the digital universe.
For businesses, this data is a potential goldmine. But it also poses huge challenges when it comes to identifying, harnessing and using it in a way that has a positive impact on the bottom line, while maintaining the trust and allegiance of existing customers who are increasingly fickle when it comes to brand loyalty.
Today’s CMO not only has to consider traditional forms of marketing data, but also has to address the exponential growth of non-traditional data sources. Today, the typical business interacts with customers via the company website, call centres, email, social media platforms, online forums, text message or traditional post, as well as in person of course.
The omnipresence of social media also means brands can now ‘talk’ directly to consumers and, when effective, strike up a dialogue. The opening up of this two-way communication clearly has huge advantages for marketers, but it also creates the potential to unleash an avalanche of data that must be used properly, or risk damaging the brand.
So, as we start a new year with all the best intentions, here are our top tips for every data-driven CMO (or those that want to be, but aren’t yet):
1. Curb the data deluge
All CMOs know that managing, analysing and acting on data is central to the success of any marketing campaign.
In addition to the streams of customer information coming from social media, such as blogs, communities, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, Twitter and many others, there is also increasingly data to be captured from the likes of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, devices with global positioning systems (GPS), and bar code readers (i.e. QR Codes).
Making the most of this, often unstructured, data and turning it into information and customer insight is critical in order to better understand, anticipate and meet the needs of customers.
Putting in place effective Marketing Information Systems has long been something of a holy grail for the marketing profession, but today the technology exists to make it a reality. Make sure that you have the right technology in place to give you what you need.
2. Own the role of customer data management
The role of a CMO is evolving — many in the industry see CMOs adding the role of ‘Chief Data Officer’ to their remit as a result of the importance that data is playing.
An organisation that is not in control of its data is not in control of its business, but the task can be overwhelming.
It involves:
- Identifying what data should be captured and used
- Ensuring the quality of data collected
- Data-mining across existing corporate or product silos which all hold their own share of customer information to develop a single, centralised view of the customer
- Pulling out useful insight from the available data — to identify the customers who are most likely to respond to a particular offer – rather than waste money on those who will never buy
- Establishing the best ways of communicating with these ‘warm’ sales targets to clinch the deal.
Traditionally, the sheer mention of the word ‘data’ has lead almost automatically to the IT department. IT certainly has its role among a number of significant contributors to mastering the ‘Big Data’ challenge, not least when it comes to finding a technology solution to the problem. However, the IT department on its own will not usually have the comprehensive perspective of an organisation’s business and the specific requirements of the marketing function.
Consider bringing together a multidisciplinary team to establish the firm’s overall data strategy, which ideally needs to bridge functional silos. This will give you both an overarching view of the organisation and the ability to drill-down where required.
3. Determine your priorities
Once you have figured out how to handle data management, how will all the inbound data actually be put to use? This data has to serve in building strong, long-lasting customer relationships, and maximising the lifetime value of each customer by
- Optimising segmentation and targeting in order to tailor offers to the individual customer rather than mass marketing indiscriminately (reducing costs at the same time)
- Enabling customer service staff and salespeople to engage with consumers in a meaningful way, based on their buying history, preferences and location
- Coordinating all communications channels to deliver consistent messaging. Ensuring that all channels have the same up-to-date, real-time and contextual information so that a customer can start a dialogue in one channel and finish it in another.
If you can master the ‘Big Data’ challenge in this way, then the ultimate prize is better campaign ROI, reduced marketing costs, improved customer acquisition and retention, and – ultimately — a boost to the bottom line. Big Data is valuable, and it’s here. Are you making the most of it?
