Data-Driven Marketing. Given all the references to data-driven marketing in the marketplace, one has to assume that there is no one single definition for the word.
Lisa Arthur, CMO of Teradata Applications, took a stab at defining it for the Economist Group in early 2014:
“Data-driven marketing is the process of collecting, analyzing and executing on insights from unstructured and multi-structured data that are integrated across the enterprise.”
She goes on further to state that it’s NOT data-driven marketing if (1) a single view of the customer does not exist; (2) you are not taking a coordinated cross-channel approach to connecting with the customer; and (3) you are using mass marketing tactics.
Using Arthur’s definition, data-driven marketing only occurs in a perfect world where the business is at the bleeding edge of technology and data science. It’s possible … but not primetime just yet!
Tom Kaneshige, the senior writer for CIO, asked the same question of several tech vendors earlier this year. I liked the response of EVP of Advertising at SundaySky’s response:
“Arguably, the most important evolution in the history of marketing is the ability to understand what data you have, what data you can get, how to organize and, ultimately, how to activate the data.”
I wouldn’t necessarily put it in that order – but I can jump on board with SundaySky’s definition!
Here are my two cents: a marketer is doing data-driven marketing if they are:
- Analyzing the data available to them to understand marketing and business performance
- Mashing up different/multiple sources of data to get to a single version of the truth (remember the term mashup?)
- Seeking to incorporate new data elements into their analysis
- Using insights from analysis to take action to improve marketing performance and the connection with the customer
This way, everyone can be a data-driven marketer if they’re using insights to drive marketing decisions.