3 Reasons Why Every Marketing Department Needs to be Data-Driven

The phrase "content is king" has become very popular among marketing teams. The reality is that data is taking over how we are making decisions. In 2016, data is the king. Today, businesses are gathering and utilizing data to predict and optimize results. 

Data volumes are getting bigger than ever before - 47% of Chief Data Officers (CDOs) say that their biggest challenge is dealing with the sheer volume. Some companies have tried to combine this role, with the CEO sometimes taking on this responsibility. Truth is that every person in your company should be data-driven. Analytics should belong to every process at your company. 

Marketing teams are struggling to make informed decisions faster and now it's clearer: you need a dedicated person to focus on this area. 

1. Data is Essential to Making Decisions & Spotting Trends

Making data-driven decisions is smart. If you are not doing it and your competitors are, chances are you are in disadvantage. Customer data will help you to outline consumer behavior and whether any changes are needed to your current approach. Without someone taking care of this data, you will miss key trends and patterns.

A lot of the data you gather will turn out to be completely useless, or it won’t be relevant to you right now. When you’re looking at a screen filled with numbers, it can be difficult to filter what's relevant. Every number needs context. One of the ways to understand this information in a more comprehensive way is to look back, create pivot tables, and go over it again to spot trends. Data-driven digital marketers are good at these processes.

Many entrepreneurs have missed out on trends simply because they weren’t paying attention to numbers provided by a data scientist.

2. Show Your Investors Numbers That Matter

Entrepreneurs know that in order to keep raising money from investors, they need to show traction and growth. Investors aren’t necessarily experts in statistics, but you always want to support your arguments with real data. This information has to be easily consumed and a data-driven person can perform this task in an easier manner.

3. Data Says More Than What a Customer Can

Data can tell you whether your customers really want your product or not. By tracking the numbers, you can have a real time interaction with your users. You can find out why users stopped using your product or what part of the product they like the most. You’ll spot problems without anyone needing to tell you about them.

A customer opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt. When confronted, most customers will give you a neutral response. A data-driven person in your marketing team has the ability to save your company - think about it.

What Should You Look for This Position?

This person should have the ability to understand and use Excel and business intelligence softwares. Quantitative information will point you to an issue, but it will not tell you what it is exactly. This is where qualitative instinct comes into action. You need someone who can test different hypotheses on why a certain pattern occurred. There needs to be a balance between both, but quantitative data is the ultimate measure of what happened.

It takes a special kind of person to do this job and do it well. 

What will you look for in a CDO for your marketing department today?