Matthew Nixon, Head of Analytics, EMEA at Incubeta, says the ability to effectively measure and leverage information can make or break an organisation’s success. However, many companies struggle to break down the departmental silos that prevent them from gaining an holistic view of their operations and data efforts.
This disconnect not only hinders data-driven marketing decision making, but also undermines the true value that digital marketing can bring to the bottom line across the business as a whole.
The Path To Measurement Maturity
While most business leaders recognise the importance of data literacy, many employees still feel ill-equipped to work with data effectively. This disconnect is often symptomatic of a larger challenge – the inability to integrate data and insights across an organisation.
We have seen that businesses that have embraced a digital-first approach often have a natural advantage as their agile mindset and platform-based architecture allow for greater data integration and cross-functional collaboration. In contrast, legacy brands face a real challenge as they try to deal with a rapidly advancing digital landscape while also contending with deeply entrenched organisational silos.
Bridging The Gaps Through Holistic Measurement
Recognising the importance of breaking down these barriers, data-smart CMOs should be able to turn to their marketing partners and agencies to help them achieve a more layered measurement strategy.
The process often begins with a comprehensive assessment of the client’s current data and analytics capabilities, followed by a series of workshops that bring together stakeholders from across the organisation, including marketing, finance, IT, sales, and e-commerce teams. By connecting the dots between different departments, the team can uncover hidden opportunities and address the root causes of underperformance.
This is not without its challenges however, and leaders must be on the lookout for teams that operate in silos, focusing solely on their own channel-specific metrics. The potential for disconnect is particularly high between marketing and finance, who are often working towards the same goals, but miss one another in both the language as well as the metrics used. This can lead to a distorted view of marketing’s true impact, as the broader contribution to the customer journey and overall business goals may be overlooked.
Empowering Teams Through Data Democratisation
A great measurement strategy is not just about consolidating data; it’s about empowering teams to derive actionable insights and make informed decisions. This requires a shift towards data democratisation, where information is readily accessible and understandable to those who need it most.
Historically, analytics teams have been seen as a back-office function, providing retrospective reports rather than proactive guidance. Agencies are working to change that perception by embedding their data and analytics experts directly within the marketing and media teams. This way, they can provide real-time insights and recommendations, helping to optimise campaigns and drive better business outcomes.
Beyond just reporting on past performance, the goal is to equip teams with the ability to predict the impact of their actions. By leveraging advanced techniques like media mix modeling and machine learning, organisations can gain a more accurate understanding of how their marketing efforts contribute to sales, revenue, and other key metrics.
Driving Cohesion And Proving Marketing’s Value
When implemented effectively, a layered measurement strategy can have a transformative impact on an organisation, fostering greater cross-departmental collaboration and demonstrating the true value of digital marketing.
It’s important to understand that this is an ongoing process and the one-and-done approach to measurement is a thing of the past. When brands work with their chosen digital specialist partners to incrementally improve their data maturity, they not only see rapid results, but are in a position where they can adapt and automate based on additional insights – giving them a very real and ongoing competitive advantage.
By aligning stakeholders around shared data and objectives, agencies are able to break down the silos that have traditionally plagued many businesses. This not only improves decision-making and resource allocation but also helps to cultivate a more cohesive, data-driven culture.
Crucially, this approach also enables organisations to quantify the impact of their marketing activities, moving beyond simplistic last-click attribution models. By connecting marketing efforts to tangible business outcomes, such as revenue growth or improved ROI, teams can effectively communicate their value to the C-suite and secure the necessary support and investment to drive further success.
Shifting how businesses collect, manage and use data is not always an easy journey. But those who put the effort in can expect a more agile, collaborative, and profitable business that can adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs.
INCUBETA
www.incubeta.com
