Data: A Marketer’s Best Friend or Worst Nightmare?

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Ideas you can use.

The marketing technology landscape exploded from 150 platforms in 2011 to over 3,500 in 2016 — enough to make anyone want to walk away. The harder problem isn’t choosing systems; it’s that many organizations implemented the latest technology and ended up no better off, drowning in data or unable to reach the right information across disparate sets.

If you have too much data — or the wrong data — start with one dataset: the contact list. In B2B marketing, focus is hitting the right prospects with the right message at the right time, which requires knowing who your prospects are and being able to reach them. Before launching any program, Red House’s Data, Analytics and Automation team runs a comprehensive analysis of the contact list: what organizations are included, what personas and roles are represented, and whether the contact information is valid. The point is one question — can we realistically meet our campaign goals with this list? The same analysis later shows how effective the strategy was and how to optimize outreach next time.