Tim Cook recently voiced strong opinions on privacy issues at a cyber security summit in Silicon Valley. With big data fueling personalized marketing strategies, brands are paying close attention to the latest developments in online security and legislation. Providing data sharing and analysis is done openly and with the full understanding of the public, data driven marketing can offer a valuable service to both marketers and their audiences.

The relationship between consumer data and privacy is notoriously complex; the summit at which Tim Cook attended preceded the signing of a new order that will make it easier for the government to share sensitive information about potential cyber threats with the public sector. Cook said “We believe customers have a right to privacy and the vast majority of customers don’t want people knowing everything about them.’ Cook highlights a sensitive issue; consumers don’t want to be watched or to be pestered with overzealous social media presence and frequent emails.

Conducting market research in a trustworthy and transparent way enables brands to maintain a continuous presence as opposed to an invasive ‘always on’ approach. In this sense data driven marketing can be less invasive than attempts to cultivate on-going conversations with consumers through more traditional marketing practices. Generic ‘feedback’ and testimonials are being increasingly overlooked in favour of more meaningful ‘real time’ responses to brands, their products and their activity on social media platforms. Online panels offer a great opportunity for brands to execute a more targeted approach for more valuable data.

According to a recent study, organisations that take the lead in implementing data-driven marketing report better levels of customer engagement than those that don’t. Working within global markets has created a stronger sense of competition than ever before. Tapping into consumer intelligence offers an exciting opportunity to develop more useful marketing strategies and the benefits appear to outweigh the challenge of striking the delicate balance between offering better customer service and respecting consumer privacy. Marketers who have embraced data-driven marketing to the fullest extent have enjoyed demonstrable results. The travel industry is a leading example – 67 per cent of travel executives claimed that data driven marketing has helped to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. Similarly, the retail industry is enjoying great results – over 55 per cent of retail executives claim to have enjoyed a competitive advantage in customer loyalty and acquisition.

Consumers can experience real benefits from the tailored service that data driven marketing facilitates. From pre-filling online supermarket shopping baskets and saving preferred travel routes to recommending music and films – understanding data can enable consumers to enjoy an efficient, personalized shopping experience.

See our top tips below for an introduction to some of the key considerations for implementing or executing a data driven marketing strategy:

• In order to extract the best possible value from your data it is important to ensure you are using the most relevant and efficient market research tools. Over 68.2 per cent of marketers are analyzing customers through data and 30 per cent of marketers use analytics tools – choosing reliable tools is a great way of leveraging your data for maximum benefit

• Keep things simple. Introducing numerous tools and technology to your marketing strategy can complicate things and distract from the true objectives and lead to mistakes. 51.8 per cent of marketers interviewed indicated that building reports presented a serious issue. Introduce clear objectives and create a simple reporting format for rich, meaningful results.

• This is new territory; don’t be afraid to follow a good example. Monitor competitor activity and thought leadership. Like all areas of the industry, data-driven marketing is constantly evolving and staying on top of the latest developments will help to keep your strategy relevant.

• Over 33 per cent of marketers in a recent study claimed that they don’t have staff with the right skills to properly leverage the data. Be prepared to build both your strategy and your team. Get the right process and the right people in place, a skilled and numerate team who understand the challenges of interpreting data will be in a far better position to grow as the industry evolves.

Author bio

Morten Strand is the chief executive of Cint, a global provider of market research tools for obtaining market insight from survey respondents. With a global reach of more than 10 million people in 57 countries – all recruited through 500 different panel owners like publishers, local media outlets, market research agencies and non-profits – Cint’s exchange platform OpinionHUB is a fully transparent insights marketplace, bringing together questions and answers from all around the world.