NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Conversational marketing technology provider Neolane, Inc. announced the results of its survey conducted in Q3 2012 with The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The survey of more than 250 respondents, spanning mid-level and executive-level marketers in a wide range of industries, revealed that many are struggling with managing Big Data and must implement changes to make better use of their customer information.
Overall, many are ill-equipped to handle the influx of growing data and are behind in planning for tremendous growth. Sixty percent of those surveyed noted that they do not currently have or are unsure if their company has a specific strategy for handling the challenges of Big Data. More than half of respondents indicated that they are augmenting their marketing team and investing in new technology to handle the influx of customer data. Additionally, 81 percent of those surveyed feel that they are either somewhat or not very prepared when it comes to the new rules and regulations of marketing data governance.
Analyst firms agree that Big Data is going to change how organizations will spend their IT budgets as this growth will create new opportunities that they need to address.
According to an October 2012 Gartner press release titled “Gartner Says Big Data Creates Big Jobs: 4.4 Million IT Jobs Globally to Support Big Data By 2015,” worldwide IT spending is forecast to surpass $3.7 trillion in 2013, a 3.8 percent increase from 2012, with Big Data at the forefront of this spending.
Marketers Embrace SoLoMo
Although marketers are struggling with managing Big Data and meeting new regulations, the survey indicates that they are embracing SoLoMo marketing strategies that help generate new data:
- 62 percent of marketers leverage social media profile data (e.g., profile ID, likes, interests), while 62 percent utilize social media transactions including wall posts, shares and comments in online campaigns.
- Opportunity still exists for marketers in mobile, specifically in accessing location-based data in mobile campaigns as only 23 percent of survey respondents noted they are currently using this data.
- Overall, 50 percent of marketing departments say that skill sets are changing, especially with the growth of these social and mobile channels. Therefore, they are considering employing Data Scientists to handle the influx of customer data.
“It is clear that our increasingly data-driven world is reshaping how marketers engage consumers,” said Linda A. Woolley, DMA’s acting president and CEO. “However, it is also clear that when it comes to the new rules and regulations of marketing data governance – most organizations simply are not prepared. DMA is the one source for the most current information about what is happening on the legislative and regulatory front. We provide advice and counsel to members – and the most effective information and guidance on best practices, data governance and compliance.”
“Our survey shows that marketers are relying more on social media vehicles and location-based information to gain more insight into consumer behavior and drive successful digital marketing campaigns,” said Stephan Dietrich, president, Neolane, Inc. “While some organizations are planning to hire Data Scientists to manage customer data, not all have that luxury. Regardless of resources, all organizations need to consider a marketing technology platform that can both manage and analyze critical data. While having the right people and processes in place is essential, with the right technology marketers can independently derive value from Big Data to drive successful campaigns and immediate ROI.”
For more information on the Neolane and DMA Big Data survey, please view the infographic and “Big Data: Impact on Marketing Organizations” report.
About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the world’s largest trade association dedicated to advancing and protecting responsible data-driven marketing. Founded in 1917, DMA represents thousands of companies and nonprofit organizations that use and support data-driven marketing practices and techniques.
In 2012, marketers — commercial and nonprofit —will spend $168.5 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 52.7 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate approximately $2.05 trillion in incremental sales. In 2012, direct marketing accounts for 8.7 percent of total US gross domestic product and produces 1.3 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 7.9 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.2 million US jobs.
About Neolane
Neolane provides the only conversational marketing technology that empowers organizations to build and sustain one-to-one lifetime dialogues, dramatically increasing revenue and marketing efficiency. Born digital, with best-in-class email and inbound-outbound channel fusion capabilities architected into a single code-based platform, marketers achieve results in record time. Neolane is easy to use for both power and casual users, but powerful enough to drive the most sophisticated marketing strategies. Future proof, Neolane has a track record of enabling its customers to adapt to new customer engagement challenges and exploit opportunities more quickly than their competition. Neolane is used by more than 350 of the world’s leading companies including Alcatel Lucent, barnesandnoble.com, Orange, Sears Canada, Sephora Europe and Sony Music. Visit www.neolane.com and read our blog The Cross-Channel Conversation.
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