Art or Science? The Fate of Data-Driven Marketing

At least once a week, I receive invitations to webinars about the demise of data-driven marketing. Despite the popularity of this advice, marketers should not rely on gut instinct. The explosive growth of marketing tools has resulted in many confused executives, with a third of CMOs not trusting their own data. Traditionally, it was nearly impossible to track marketing success. However, digital marketing has evolved over the past 15-20 years and now we can track more progress. Although some people want to go back to the pre-digital age, marketers should use data to make decisions, while also retaining creativity.

Before we discuss how to marry data and art, let's understand how we got into this mess. Historically, marketing success was measured by iconic resonance, whether it translated into sales or not. Agencies were retained only if sales drastically spiked. Business leaders grew frustrated and Marketing was nicknamed the "arts and crafts department". Digital marketing has moved to the forefront, although we can never get perfect results. Perfection is impossible with word-of-mouth referrals and cloaked digital interactions.

The marketing leaders who will be successful in the next 5-10 years are those who know how to use data to decide what to improve, repeat, or drop. Multitouch attribution can estimate how each interaction with a prospect helps to close a deal. Marketing leaders should align core KPIs with the rest of the business, while also investing in the right tools and talent. They must also be truthful and accurate about marketing data to gain the trust of executives, while avoiding the temptation to sell it as a silver bullet.