On the eve of the Data Marketing Show at Olympia, I interviewed Jeremy Jones, Datanomic’s Marketing Director about the challenge of data quality for marketing professionals. Jones suggests (with tongue, I suspect, firmly in cheek) that in order to combat the increasing pressure to deliver improved performance in difficult financial times, marketers should take advice, not from the latest business gurus, but from comic-book hero Batman.
It is often the case that as the economy tightens, so do Marketing budgets, and with very few markets seeing signs of green shoots (or even roots) of recovery, the pressure to achieve continued growth is forcing marketers to be even more creative in their approach. The need to deliver more for less is stronger than ever. According to Jones, the ‘Caped Crusader’ provides a good example of the best approach.
“My boyhood memory of comics is that unlike other heroes, Batman’s not imbued with super powers,” says Jones, with a smile. “He achieves his success through a willingness to tackle problems himself, using a range of high-tech weapons from his utility belt, supported by a level of fitness which is truly exceptional.”
This combination leads Jones to identify three parallels for today’s marketers:
• Get fit (for purpose) as possible – “The most important starting point is to ensure all your data is accurate and actionable. It’s impossible to build an effective prospect or customer segmentation without data which is free from inaccuracies, inconsistencies, or is simply missing,” notes Jones. “Better data means better insight, and the ability to get a Single View across all your data allows for finely targeted messaging of tailored offers to prospects, and powerful cross-, link- or up-sell opportunities for customers through leveraging of purchasing histories.”
• Embrace cutting-edge technology – “There are a wealth of software tools available to marketing departments, from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to full Marketing Management Systems (MMS),” continues Jones. “The increasing use of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook for commercial messaging provides yet another channel to be exploited by marketers, and another data resource which needs to be harnessed for profiling. Even if the systems themselves are incompatible, the source data that underpins them can be combined, profiled and standardized for effective campaign management.”
• Reduce outsourcing and retain control – “Many marketing departments rely upon external agencies to manage, cleanse and improve their data prior to campaign building campaign target lists. There is an inevitable delay involved in turning around the segment data which can significantly affect the flexibility of an organization to respond to changes in the marketplace or unexpected events,” says Jones. “Even when the data is returned it often still isn’t altogether fit-for-purpose as a result of poor de-duplication or loosely-configured match rules. Products like our dn:Director provide in-house teams of marketers or data analysts to quickly and easily manage and improve the quality of their underlying data, delivering a better Single View of Customer from their CRM, greater accuracy of insight and campaign ROI analysis from the MMS, and the ability to respond at speed to market demands.”
With all this talk of fit-for-purpose data, does Datanomic’s Marketing Director worry about seen as a nerd, rather than a marketer?
“Not a bit,” replies Jones. “Data isn’t the sole domain of the IT team. Every marketer understands the value of actionable campaign data, as they’re the ones who experience the pain if mail is returned, email blasts are bounced, promotions fail or any other damage hits the campaign because of poor quality data. There’s nothing nerdy about ensuring good campaign ROI.”
And as for Batman?
“Datanomic is just helping them to ensure the weapons in their utility belt are completely fit-for-purpose. With our help they just have to roll up their sleeves (or capes if they prefer) and get stuck in,” smiles Jones.