Time marches on and thus we march into March. And what’s that? Almost a taste of spring in the air? Well, maybe for some. But not our friends in the North who have been treated to a blanket of snow as thick as Donald Trump’s hair isn’t.
So whether you’ve been enjoying a bright and breezy stroll among the just-sprouting daffodils or you’ve been digging yourself out of your own front door, you may not have had time to see all the important B2B news stories of the week. If that’s the case, never fear. Here’s the news round-up.
5. Big data to add £322 billion to UK economy by 2020
Big data and the ‘internet of things’ (IoT) are projected to boost the UK economy by £322 billion by 2020, according to research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and SAS.
Entitled The value of big data and the internet of things to the UK economy, the research aims to establish the value of big data and the IoT and their combined future impact on the UK economy across a number of different industries.
It achieved this by analysing adoption rates of big data and IoT analytics solutions and the average amount of data stored by businesses in the last 12 months.
On average, 56 per cent of UK businesses are currently using some form of big data analytics, which currently contributes over £46 billion to the UK economy (when combined with the IoT).
4. Predictive analytics revealed as marketers’ weakest data skill
Predictive analytics is the weakest data skill among B2B marketers, their team and their organisation, according to B2B Marketing’s Data Skills Benchmarking Report.
Only 27 per cent of marketers rated their own predictive analysis as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, with a worrying 41 per cent admitting their level of expertise was ‘quite poor’ or ‘poor’.
The situation deteriorates when examining how marketers perceive their team’s and organisation’s predictive analytics skills.
A concerning 52 per cent of marketers rated their company’s predictive analysis as poor, and were even more damning of their team’s skills (62 per cent ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’).
3. Creating personalised content biggest challenge for marketers
Creating personalised content is the biggest content challenge for creative marketers, according to a Rapt Media report.
Eighty-three per cent of survey respondents said developing content that’s personalised is their biggest content hurdle.
The report suggests better content tech is the key to overcoming this challenge, with 94 per cent of marketing creatives citing it as the main driver for producing engaging and personalised content.
Understandably, making content engaging was cited as the key component of successful content, while personalising it to different audiences and distributing it to the right (and multiple) channels were also commonly referenced.
2. Use of ad blocking software on the rise
The use of ad-blocking tools in the UK is on the rise, according to a report from the IAB and YouGov.
Usage among British adults has risen from 18 per cent to 22 per cent since October 2015.
Interestingly, over half (54 per cent) of those using ad-blocking software would disable it to gain access to content they like.
Ad blocking is most common among 18-24 year-olds (47 per cent), while 45-54 year-olds are least likely to use it (16 per cent).
1. Three quarters of marketers ‘failing with data’
Almost 75 per cent of marketers feel their companies don’t make the most of their data, according to B2B Marketing’s Data Skills Benchmarking Report.
Marketers were particularly critical of their organisation’s abilities to generate and act on data-driven insight, with 73 per cent highlighting it as a specific problem.
Throughout the research, marketers consistently expressed doubt regarding their team’s data sophistication and the effectiveness with which they use the data they hold.
More positively, one in three marketers (29 per cent) feel their team’s data skills are either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
