What Stops Marketers from Deriving Value from Data-Driven Efforts

Challenges aside, marketers are optimistic

February 18, 2016 | Marketing Technology

Marketers are constantly looking to get value from their data-driven marketing efforts. But, insufficient availability or functionality of supporting technology is a challenge to doing so, according to research.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Winterberry Group surveyed 120 US digital marketing and media practitioners. Respondents were asked to pick up to five obstacles to deploying and deriving value from data-driven marketing and media initiatives in 2016.

One-third of respondents said that the lack of internal experience—at the functional or operational level—was one of the obstacles they faced. Furthermore, lack of volume and quality of their first-party data resources was another hurdle.

Although lower on the list, respondents also said that the fact that their organization does not use data and because there was little or no demand from customers, it was difficult for them to drive value from data-driven marketing and media initiatives.

Though marketers face challenges, most are using data-driven marketing, per a July 2015 survey from Global Alliance of Data-Driven Marketing Associations (GDMA) and Winterberry Group. Indeed, 92.3% of US ad and marketing professionals said they maintain databases to host information on customers or prospects, at least to some extent.

And more than half of all respondents (53.4%) were sophisticated practitioners and were more advanced in that area.

In addition, marketers seem to be more optimistic about data-driven revenues. Marketers are spending more on—and generating more revenues from—their data-driven marketing efforts, according to a survey conducted in July 2015.