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Easy access to customer data has sparked a new-found sense of transparency for brands and new-found pressure on CMOs to turn that data into sales.
But marketing is getting more difficult. Marketers are responsible for a growing list of digital channels. They must personalize creative and manage target audiences for each one. They’re being held accountable to optimize every dollar of their media budgets.
The marketing data has always been there — consumers browsed websites, abandoned shopping carts, and some channels performed better than others — but the difference is that now, thanks to new technology, marketers have access to more data and better visibility into it.
No substitute for analytical human beings.
It’s fair to say every brand is now collecting customer data. But having it is not enough. Your information is only as significant as you make it.
Indeed, many marketers collect data and find themselves stuck in “analysis paralysis.” It takes advanced technical skills and business acumen to access, organize, interpret, and then take action on customer data. Then, data scientists must take the next step to create machine learning tools and provide analysis of a customer’s lifetime value. As a result, we’ve seen a historic rise in marketing science or advertising science roles within brands. Even a great technology platform is no substitute for great analytical human beings.
According to a recent report from LinkedIn, data scientist roles have grown more…
