How “Big Data” is Changing Marketing. And Why Canada is Being Left Behind.
In the digital economy, every click, page view, download, tweet, Facebook post and transaction represents a data point that can be used by brands to grow their businesses both online and off. Having access to more data faster is changing the requirements of marketing and brand management.
The following interview was conducted with Brand Matters’ president and founder, Patricia McQuillan. In 2017, we returned to the content of this interview confirming the same theme with the latest information available through the CMA and Conference Board of Canada.
Q. Canadian consumers are primed to engage in the digital economy. But are Canadian brand managers keeping up?
A. The volume and detail of customer data that organizations are able to capture is exploding. Analyzing these massive data sets, often referred to as “Big Data,” will be a key basis of competition going forward. But despite having a highly connected population, Canada is slipping globally when it comes to business innovation and sophistication, in part because we aren’t fully engaged in the digital economy. That finding comes from a recent Conference Board of Canada/CMA study, which also tells us that Canada ranks 14th in marketing sophistication and 23rd in process sophistication. This represents a big opportunity for Canadian brands to get it right with a well-researched brand strategy and digital marketing plan.
Q. What’s the hold up?
A. Part of it is simply the speed of change. Consumers have changed their behaviours faster than marketers have been able to respond. The digital economy is also a fundamentally new way to look at how we conduct business. Adjusting our business models to this new world is going to take some investment in technology and people.
Most businesses realize that they need to get up to speed, but few have an enterprise strategy. Leveraging Big Data effectively also requires an up-to-date brand strategy to ensure that company efforts are building brand distinction in addition to market share for long-term advantage.
Q. What would you say is the biggest impediment to change?
A. There is a basic lack of communication between IT departments and marketing managers. In the past, they’ve had little reason to collaborate. While marketers have used data-driven analysis in a small way to understand their target markets, they’ve been slow to leverage the potential of Big Data. A new strategic relationship needs to be built between the CIO and CMO, and this needs to be supported from the top down. This trend continues in 2017 however is less pronounced.
Q. And the right capabilities need to be present in each group.
A. Yes. Even with good organizational and strategic alignment, there may be a skills gap in both groups that prevent organizations from using Big Data. IT departments need to boost their analytic capabilities and marketers need to understand how to use Big Data to leverage business opportunities. The organization’s suppliers and agencies also need to acquire new skill sets to make the collaboration work at the project level. Content marketing in 2017 forms an even more important area of focus for marketers.
Q. It sounds like both groups will benefit from being at the planning table.
A. Absolutely. IT departments have been seen as enablers for the most part, but in the new digital economy should be moving to the forefront to contribute more strategically. In turn, a more effective partnership with IT will enable marketers to make contributions that can differentiate and transform their companies. Cross functional training should form a part of this and integrate the Human Resources function for successful future-oriented organizations.
