Data has always been the thorn in a marketer’s side, as it’s increased in size, so has the pain. But there is now a group of data-savvy businesses who are utilising all its benefits. Maxine-Laurie Marshall reports
As soon as ‘big data’ appeared on the scene, most marketers were intimidated by its gargantuan size. Fast forward a year and despite the buzz it appears most businesses are still being put off. Indeed, research charity Nesta recently discovered four in five businesses use intuition instead of data to make decisions when growing sales.
Supporting Nesta’s findings, information management company, Iron Mountain’s own European survey has revealed 21 per cent of its respondents have no plans to use big data with 38 per cent of those citing it was because they didn’t know how to.
However, while the data deluge may seem overwhelming for some marketers and brands, there is now a new breed of data savvy business emerging – otherwise known as ‘Datavores’.
It seems it’s no longer just marketing automation vendors – who have their own agenda – that are looking to simplify the use of big data. A small but growing number of marketers are also wanting to get to grips with this surge of information. So who are the Datavores?
Datavore or data hoarder?
Datavores made up 18 per cent of Nesta’s respondents and were present across all sectors surveyed – proof that any sector can harness the power of data. Unsurprisingly they were most common (28 per cent) in the information and communications sector. According to the report, ‘they gather online customer data intensively, subject this to sophisticated analyses and use what they learn to improve their business.’
If you think you are doing this already but you’re not reaping any benefits from your analysis, perhaps you’re not a true Datavore but rather a data hoarder.
Juan Mateos-Garcia, report co-author and creative industries research fellow at Nesta, says, “We found a substantial number of so-called Datavores who said they didn’t benefit much from their online data.
“When we looked at them more closely, however, we found that, in fact, they weren’t collecting, analysing or, most importantly, using their online data as much as the Datavores who did benefit from their online data.”
So what can you learn from the minority group who have mastered online data?
Like all early adopters, they embrace change, even if it comes with a price tag. Mateos-Garcia says, “Becoming a Datavore entails costs. Some of these are more straightforward – training the workforce and managers, and investing in technology. Others relate to shifts in the way the business is organised, and even changing the culture of the business and the role of managers within it.”
Another thing Datavores have in common is a higher percentage of online analytics adoption than other businesses. Their top three areas of analytics are basic trend analysis, creation of dashboards and data visualisation and segmentation.
Intuition and data integration
Elissa Fink, CMO at Tableau Software, supports the use of data visualisation but says it can combine data and intuition. She suggests, “The best option for decision makers is to combine their intuition with their data. It can be incredibly difficult but by visualising their data in a way that lets them easily and rapidly follow their intuition or hunches, marketers can gain meaningful, big insights that can transform their efforts.
Sharon Pickford, marketing director of British Gas Business also champions intuition in marketing. She wasn’t surprised that businesses favour it over data. She says, “I don’t think it’s that surprising. We are in a period of data overload, with numerous data points and triggers being thrown at us at an ever-increasing volume and frequency.
“Knowing your customers mixed with understanding your customers is the only real way a business can deliver sustained growth. Knowing comes from intuition, understanding behaviours comes from data.”
With this in mind is big data over-rated? Pickford adds, “Over-rated is probably a bit harsh, I think the true benefits are yet to fully emerge, but they will. And they will form another part of the revolution in data and in understanding customers.”
Lubor Ptacek, VP strategic marketing at OpenText argues, “Big data is over-hyped right now. When people say ‘big data,’ what they really mean – or what they should really be saying – is ‘analytics.’
“It’s about technology that allows a business to gain deeper insights from the information it has. Content is a major source of that information, and there is no denying smarter management of content can bring huge business intelligence benefits to an organisation.”
This is something the Datavores have discovered as they invest in technology and training to understand data. The question is, should you be striving to walk alongside them or are they all numbers and no heart?
Mateos-Garcia offers a warning for those still lacking the enthusiasm to tackle the data beast. He says, “One thing that concerns me, is that if more UK companies do not make use of their data, competitors in other countries will, with negative implications for the UK’s marketshare in important areas such as ecommerce, digital content and advertising.”
The key to the data versus intuition argument seems to be in another marketing buzz word, integration. Pickford concludes, “Some businesses only use data and they lack empathy with their customers, coming across as cold and calculating. Marketers that only use intuition are often overlooked as fluffy and irrelevant in the wider commercial business context. As we move into a world where marketing blends both intuition and data, we’ll see great change.”
Identifying a datavore – Four key characteristics
1. Tech territory is a favourite. Datavores can be found across all markets although they are most prevalent in information and communications (28 per cent) and are least visible in financial services (nine per cent). The proportion of Datavores in B2B sectors, however, is in line with other sectors.
2. Insight is their strength. The true hallmark of a Datavore is using the insights generated from data to actually make business decisions.
3. They feast on analytics. Datavores invest more in online analytics e.g. almost three-quarters have invested in training their staff to use data better in comparison to 55 per cent of other companies.
4. Size matters. Large companies are more likely to focus on data as opposed to intuition.
