What is so big about big data?
As a national speaker and consultant, I see big data as a key to success for future marketers.
The ability to know the existing and prospective customer, offer suggested product and service recommendations and then cross-sell other options from within the organization or with partner organizations is going to be huge.
In the digital era, we have moved from a private society to a public society. This allows for some amazing data gathering. Imagine a world with relevant, personalized advertising (rather than forced one-way communications). In other words, instead of being bombarded with ads we do not want, we will get marketing messages we actually do want.
This topic came up at the FutureM conference in Boston. Jim Speros, EVP in Fidelity Communications and Advertising, was a featured speaker and he talked about major changes that are happening in marketing. He discussed how technology has enabled enhancements.
“Big data allows us to have a hypothesis and test it,” said Speros. “Predicative analytics is really where the puck is going in this industry.” He explained the key is to turn chaos into clarity.
Now the power of insight is advanced. Speros explained that better marketers will take advantage of the ability to have real-time responses.
Bid data does pose some issues, but there are also advantages. Speros spoke about hurdles to overcome, such as lack of alignment of how to use information within organizations, silos that keep systems from working together, access to multiple sources of data, privacy concerns, the ever continuing difficulty to keep pace, the immense amount of data and the lack of analytical capabilities.
While there are issues to overcome, big data can have significant benefits. If used successfully, it can allow for precise targeting, with relevant messages and well-timed delivery in the right location. Speros stated that these changes will advance marketing, as they will improve efficiency and have greater effectiveness.
We have seen a significant marketing evolution already, from the industrial age to the information age. Speros shared that he thinks we are now in the attention deficit age. That should be no surprise, as the majority of those online in the U.S. are using multiple platforms and devices at once. Plus, handheld devices have become part of who we are. Sixty-five percent of us take our smartphone from room to room, added Speros.
“There is a huge difference from observations and insights. What are the issues, the concerns? What are the things that are dominating the thinking? Often times, they are the things you don’t see,” explained Speros.