By Kulwinder Singh

How as a CMO, are you harnessing data with a purpose? I was intrigued by this question during an internal meeting by one of my colleagues, a few months ago. I have always believed that data is the foundation of insight, and insight is in turn the foundation of good decision-making. But why would a young colleague of mine raise this question; it got me thinking.

I am sure we all know that data on its own solves nothing. All functions including the marketing organization need a culture of data, and common standards for data literacy to generate business insights.

As I dwelled more on it, I realized that if this question was posed to me a couple of years ago, I probably would have answered very differently. But a lot has changed in the marketer’s life since then. The chief marketing officer’s organization has witnessed a remarkable shift in terms of data consumption and data interpretation.

Many of today’s CMOs were formerly in charge of everything starting from the brand narrative to creative to customers. But now, they are in control of every possible area of the customer experience (CX), including technology, customer data and analytics, existing account growth, and, ultimately, the impact on top and the bottom line. So, these CMOs are as much themselves the tech-evangelists as they are martech experts. From being an initiator to promoting digital adoption to acting as the company’s digital evangelist, the CMO is omnipresent.

Data is ‘everywhere,’ and CMOs are expected to leverage various sources for data analytics and marketing intelligence to bring in new customers and retain existing customers. The biggest shift in the recent past has been about how CMOs have started viewing the data.

Shirli Zelcer Zelcer, Merkle’s head of analytics and data captures the essence perfectly – “Data is power, and you should always take advantage of the data you have. Whether it is for building better models, or social listening and understanding unstructured data, all of this very rich data we weren’t able to use in marketing in the past is now something that we are able to use through AI.”
Additionally, the ever-changing business scenarios-dynamics responsibility of the CMO is continuously changing as businesses transform into insight-driven organizations and adjust to increasing competitive challenges. The traditional role of the CMO has been replaced by one that is now in charge of the entire customer experience. These new CMOs are increasingly leading their organizations’ efforts to use analytics data, giving them a unique opportunity to shape company strategy.

CMOs are leveraging Data-driven Marketing

Even when marketing was traditionally focused on intuition rather than facts, it made it difficult to get exact data on a campaign’s efficacy. The pandemic significantly altered peoples’ shopping behavior. As the prospect-to-purchase process became more digital and self-directed, customer expectations grew. As a result, CMOs are being pressured to invest more in digital projects and touchpoints.

However, it is crucial to recognize the significance of the enormous amounts of data produced. By slicing and dicing the data, business intelligence and analytics (BI & A) platforms enable stakeholders and non-technical users to get valuable knowledge about the customer. The CMO of today must combine originality with business acumen. Data research shows customer triggers, unmet wants, and affinities that might open new prospects and which ads convert the best.

Every firm needs marketing that is driven by data. Marketing executives are expected to exploit a flow of new consumer data and insights to inform their plans.

The Pioneers of the New Analytics Era

CMOs now, love their data, but when it’s difficult to access or communicate, insights might be overlooked, causing marketers to make snap judgments. CMOs can increase analytics adoption rates and foster a data-first culture within their teams and throughout the business by integrating analytics into processes and apps. Business customers may optimize their campaigns more quickly than ever without leaving their current workflows thanks to infused analytics solutions that constantly offer shareability and updated data.

In a market where competitors are evolving quickly, CMOs may seize the opportunity to promote an analytics-first culture that rethinks the use of data to boost sales and expand the company.

CMOs may encourage the company’s digital transformation as the C-suite embraces input from marketing. CMOs may play a key role in dismantling departmental barriers, redefining the organization’s aims to become more customer-centric, and reinforcing their role as growth drivers by promoting the integration of data analytics into everyday operations to establish an analytics-first culture.

Making the Role of CMO and Analytics Work

Analytics by itself won’t do anything for a firm. Analytics must be integrated into the decision-making and strategy-creation processes and align with company objectives and business strategy to be helpful and deliver value. As a result, firms must understand precisely how different activities provide company value.

No matter where the function finally lands, CMOs are significant stakeholders who should be actively involved in guiding the firm’s overall analytics strategy since they are essential users of the analytics insights generated by their organization.

Challenges offer fantastic possibilities for growth. It is the appropriate moment for CMOs to expand the scope of their responsibilities as businesses deal with rapidly shifting client expectations. They may present the board with analytics-driven consumer insights to show marketing’s strategic value and assist shape corporate strategy and direction.

A solid analytics foundation is necessary for growth oriented CMOs. By integrating the appropriate analytics solution into workflows, marketing leaders will develop an analytics-driven culture that results in enhanced KPIs and optimized campaigns, which ultimately enhance revenues for the company. CMOs will be able to get everyone on the same page and convince others to act using data-driven insights and an agile analytics infrastructure to grow their company.

(The author is the chief marketing officer, SG Analytics – A Global Insights and Analytics company)