Is There a Purpose to All This Data?

By now I imagine you, like me, are tired of reading or hearing Data is the new oil!  Sometimes I hear that phrase and think perhaps data is not oil, it’s water, as in: water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. As an industry, today’s marketers are drowning in data and unfortunately rarely extract the value this precious commodity has promised.  Why is this the case?  I would venture it has much to do with the fact marketers are largely collecting data for the sake of data.  Put another way, have we just been collecting data without a true purpose in mind?

In a March 2019 report released by Advertiser Perceptions and MightHive they find a major gap in advertisers’ confidence in extracting value from first party data.  One finding specifically reads: “Marketers Express Concerns About Under-Utilizing Use of First Party Data: Despite optimism around the benefits of first-party data use, marketers on average believe they have tapped only 47 percent of first-party data's potential.”  

Speaking from personal experience, the Kellogg Company has long been progressive about driving a Data Driven marketing culture and their team continues that leadership today as evidenced by being announced as a finalist for Best Use of Programmatic Technology By A Marketer in this year’s AdExchanger Awards.  Despite our leadership in this space during my tenure, I would venture to say we were barely scratching the surface of understanding how to maximize value from the reams of data we were beginning to collect.  Having a world class CRM and DMP in place simply meant more places to put data, but did little to inform on the most valuable application of said data. 

For years now smart brand builders have been told to build brands based on Purpose.  I would tell marketers today the same thing about building a data-driven marketing strategy – begin with a Purpose.  

If you choose to buy second or third party data have a good reason why.  An appropriate reason does NOT include retargeting someone who is likely already a customer all over the internet.  If you are acquiring this data, is there a genuine, value-driving purpose for it?  

If you are implementing a DMP or CDP, make sure your entire media and brand teams are clear on why, what is the purpose.  At one time we believed “universal frequency management” was a good purpose, but is that enough to justify the investment?  I’m talking about truly being purposeful in the data you collect.  For example: 

• Do you really understand who your customers are, not from a socio/demographic point of view, but from a mindset point of view?  Are you collecting data that will help you better understand their mindsets?  Are you doing so in a way that is as fluid, dynamic and diverse as they are?
• Do you understand your consumers’ unmet needs?  How is the data you are collecting today helping you uncover these unmet needs? Is it the right data, coming from the right sources?
• Can your data help you answer “so what” and “now what”?  Most data, be it behavioral, purchase based, demographic or otherwise is literally just the “what”.  Creating value requires answering what does this mean for my brand, what can I do about it, what action can I take?  Seek to add data which enables this level of insight.

The amount of data and rate at which it becomes available will only continue to grow for marketers. Building the right technological ecosystem to transform your brand's ability to be data-driven is a challenge unto itself. But keep in mind, true Data-Driven Marketing requires Purpose-Driven Data!