Last week’s exclusives on CMO.com focused primarily on data-driven marketing. More and more companies are becoming data-driven while others still need that extra push to focus on the data available to them. This is especially true for firms that are in a relationship with a global media agency because marketing campaigns often produce an enormous amount of data. Who has access to this data and how is it utilized? Those questions were expertly handled this past week. Other important considerations were the role data plays in the decisions a company makes as well as the practical limitations of data in decision-making.
The week began with an eye-opening discussion of the relationship CMOs have with global media agencies. Many businesses are up for renewal with their media agencies, and marketers need to be smart about what they pay attention to when they renegotiate their global media deals. Tom Denford, Joint CEO of ID Comms, advises his clients to look for the best deal, but to also pay particular attention to data and transparency. CMOs need to have more access and control over data that results from a campaign. Also, CMOs need assurance that the data arising from a campaign is available exclusively to the company that paid for it.
In last week’s exclusive interview, Ed Kamm, Chief Customer Officer at First Utility, talked about the role data plays in his organization. Kamm looks at data for insights about his customers, and this in turn drives the actions the company takes. First Utility’s goal is to get customers utility bills as low as possible while delivering reliable energy all the time. The idea behind this strategy is to give the customers more money in their pockets to address other critical needs. In this way, the company strives to be “a different kind of energy company.” In addition to letting data drive the actions they take, Kamm is focused on making First Utility a company customers can trust. He does this by ensuring that the organisation’s actions align with what they say they’re going to do.
Data was a frequent topic at last month’s IQPC Digital Marketing & Transformation Exchange event in London. Maarten Stramrood, Director of Online & Segment Marketing at Ziggo, a Dutch telecoms operator, mentioned the different perspectives and new insights that can often result from a company combining and analysing all of its data sources. Jean-Paul Jansen of Procter & Gamble suggested using data to challenge the assumption of its company that most fragrance sales happened in-store. The data proved otherwise and the company was driven to turn to using digital channels.
Jon Bains, the founding partner of What & Why, challenged companies to abandon the profile of the perfect marketer or what is often called the “Full Stack Marketer.” When a company is recruiting, skills are an essential component for any potential candidate, but the most important characteristic a person can have is the ability to be adaptable. The marketing world is always changing, and being adaptable is how a marketer stays ahead. Bains shared six key questions a company needs to work through in the process of looking for and hiring marketing candidates.
Paul Bay, the founder of Citizenbay and Citizenbrand, finished the week with a sobering reminder to companies that maintaining curiosity is more important that being data-driven. He mentioned that many businesses that feel stuck turn to data in hopes of getting unstuck. The problem is that if data only shows a company what is, the company will be unlikely to look ahead or look outside their sector to discover what could be. While many companies are becoming more data-driven, Bay argues that they need to be curiosity-driven first of all because it leads to incredible discoveries. Bains gave seven practical tips for reigniting curiosity.
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