In our age of complexity, it's easy to consider insights the ultimate upgrade from data—a destination that, once reached, alleviates a marketer from the burden of meaningless numbers, graphs, columns, and rows.
In some applications, that opportunity is very real, but the truly data-driven marketer knows that insights are only one path to mining value from data. There is much more value to be had.
Data—like technology—is intimidating. And rightly so: It demands hard skills, it catalyzes beliefs and actions, and it can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Even for highly skilled data-driven marketers, there is always something new or unknown: a question that cannot be answered, a number that doesn't match, an expectation that cannot be met. Thus, it makes sense that so many marketers favor and focus on insights as the holy grail: Insights are pure and finite—their application focused and clear.
But marketers who truly want to use data as a competitive advantage need to be comfortable (or find someone who is) with all its vast, scary, messy complexity.
Digging for Data Gold
Because of the intimidation factor, many marketers succumb to one of two misconceptions: (1) data is simply poorly branded insights; or (2) if insights can be achieved, then data is no longer important. But just as a necklace is only one of the many valuable objects you can make from gold, insights are but one output from data.
As a comprehensive tool, data is not only the catalyst for insights but also the input for predictive models, learning algorithms, and beautiful visualizations; a vehicle for personalized experiences; and an asset of quantifiable value.
That's why conflating insights and data or discounting data in the face of insights is limiting the potential value data offers to marketing teams.
To maximize this value, then, marketers should focus on implementing the following three strategies.
1. Establish a corporate data strategy
Recognize that data has commercial value, and consider how you can better put data to work. How can it inform better business decisions? In what ways can it enable more effective or efficient marketing? Is there an external market for it that could translate into direct revenue?
Focus on harnessing and using data for as many outcomes as you can, in order to increase value and achieve business and marketing goals. Fitbit's entire product suite, for instance, foundationally runs on data, and the advances in its technology and offerings are the result of examining the data consumers have logged while trying to understand what next things would best serve those consumers.
Overall, making data a part of your business strategy—with a budget and an owner—can help you obtain and maintain data that the organization determines is highly valuable to it.