Data-Driven Marketing: These Challenges Await Marketing Chiefs

In a new study, Adverity examines the biggest challenges that data-driven marketing brings. For 33 percent of CMOs, the increasing number of channels had a greater impact on marketing.

• A new study from Adverity It shows that for 33 percent of the CMOs surveyed, the growing number of channels and platforms has the greatest external impact on marketing.
• Two-thirds of CMOs confirm thisThey in recent years have been overshadowed by the amount of marketing data available to them.
• lack of know-how Within the organization is the biggest barrier to investing in technology, let’s say 27 percent of CMOs.

A lot has happened in marketing in recent years: several data protection regulations have required the creation of new processes and the global pandemic has rewrote the framework for data-driven marketing. Also, in the current climate of social, geopolitical and economic uncertainty, another potential storm looms – this time in the form of a global recession. As the pace of change accelerates and the number of external disturbances increases, it becomes difficult for companies in general, and marketing departments in particular, to adapt quickly enough. However, research shows that when companies base their strategies on data, they can absorb economic shocks and recession weather more easily.

Data-Driven Marketing: SMEs Recognize The Importance

The current survey shows that many marketing managers lose track of all activities and platforms. A third of those surveyed see the growing number of platforms and channels in use as the biggest external influence factor in marketing. This brings up the crux of the matter for respondents with the question of the best possible handling and use of data: Almost all CMOs (99 percent) report that their marketing team works with at least ten data sources. 52 percent had 14 or more sources. Additionally, 32 percent reported that their teams use external data sources for marketing analysis. For comparison, a similar study from 2019 found that nearly half (47 percent) of respondents had 6 or fewer data sources. Now, three years later, not one of those surveyed uses that few. In other words, the amount of data to be collected is greater than ever.

And precisely because of this influx of data from many different directions, teams are reaching their limits: 67 percent of marketing managers admit that they have been overwhelmed by the amount of available marketing data in recent years. This may also explain why the unpredictability of black swan events – the improbable events that happen unexpectedly and have lasting effects – and the increasing complexity of audience behavior rank second and third at 26 percent and 17 percent, respectively, as the most important external influences on marketing. . Surprisingly, only eight percent expressed concern about data protection regulations. Some time ago, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was at the top of the priority list for marketers, but it has now been neglected to the last place.

Data-driven marketing ensures flexibility

Specifically, 92 percent of respondents who rated their resilience to black swan events are low and have difficulties adjusting to the overreported data. Those who cut their computing budgets this year (100 percent) also suffer from burnout. This shows that marketing teams overlook all activities and act ineffectively if they do not improve their data processing capabilities, do not improve their processes and do not implement a single source of truth. Data-driven marketing has become more and more complex with the advancement of digital development. CMOs must ensure that their teams are able to handle the rising tide of data. This is how they stand the best chance of staying afloat and achieving optimal results.

Inadequate qualification as an obstacle to technical progress

As a rule, investments in new technologies fail due to limited resources, which also applies to data-driven marketing. Although budget issues are among the biggest hurdles, only 8 percent of CMOs in the survey named them. Surprisingly, the biggest barrier to investment is another: the lack of knowledge within the organization to use these tools (27 percent).

While many companies are starting to move beyond hiring to fill skills and knowledge gaps alone, there are still significant gaps in many marketing teams. Not only do companies need to spend their budgets on technology, they also need to build literacy with data. Only then can they unleash the true value of their technology capabilities and reap long-term value from their investment in data strategy. “Companies can have the best technology stack in the world, giving them all the information and predictions about their advertising spend and providing real-time performance data. It is useless if this data cannot be evaluated and appropriate actions taken from it,” explains Alexander Egglesbock, CEO of Adverity.

About the study methodology

to study”Slack Data, Resilience, and Marketing: What Makes Up the CMO Roadmap? Adverity commissioned a survey of 300 senior executives from small and medium-sized businesses in the US, UK and the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in April 2022. Respondents were interviewed by phone representing a wide range of industries, including technology, marketing and trade agencies e. advantage It is a provider of a data platform for marketers that enables companies to make insight-based decisions faster and easier. The Adverity platform creates a unified view of marketing and sales performance by automating the integration of data from hundreds of sources and destinations, reducing the complexity of demonstrating marketing effectiveness and ROI across online and offline channels. (SG)

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