Big Data: The Key to Big and Successful Marketing

As published on www.dataversity.net on August 22, 2016

Some words about Big Data: It is irrelevant without big marketing, the kind of outreach responsible for connecting with consumers, resonating with listeners or viewers, and echoing throughout the auditorium or arena for an audience of interested attendees. For Big Data is like a map that an increasing number of experts can read, which for the purposes of this metaphor means the map itself (never mind the mapmaker) costs less money. When interpreting the information is more affordable than ever, and when access to that material is no longer the sole province of big corporations, the onus shifts to interpreting said content. Hence the rise of big marketing, which is another way of saying smart – and targeted – outreach to relevant buyers, shoppers, customers and potential leads.

So, while the analytical aspect of this job is no longer expensive, we should turn our attention toward the difference between conventional versus creative marketing. The former is just that: A conventional approach that neither knows the specificity of its message, nor the right recipients for a message that works. The latter, creative marketing, uses Big Data to develop everything from a well-designed website – with colors and features that appeal to a particular group – to the sort of online marketing that is as constant as it is consistent; as frequent as it is fluent in the language of effective marketing; and as smart as it is successful, in breaking through the noise of the Web to find the signal that registers with a constituency that is as influential as it is important.

From my perspective, Big Data is not a matter of numbers and analytics; it is a subject for conversation and outreach with the public. A marketer must be conversant with this language, yes; but this information alone will not suddenly transform a moribund brand into a magnificent showpiece of intelligence and wisdom.

Everything hinges on the how factor: How you interpret data, so you can craft a campaign that features the right words or catchphrases; how you translate so many ones and zeroes into something intelligible for consumers of a certain age or demographic; and how, in short, you communicate based on numbers you know to be true.

By this standard, data may reveal who my audience is; but it will not reveal how I should speak to this collection of men and women. I must, therefore, be creative in what I say – and to whom I say it. In so many words, I must learn to be a master of marketing. Or I must find the right experts to run this project.

Big Data eliminates the so-called marketer’s dilemma because of the clarity of the content at our disposal. Gone is the guesswork of trying to crack a seemingly insoluble riddle. We have the answers – now we must convey them to the public.

This phenomenon marks a new chapter in the evolving story about Big Data. It represents the distinction between raw intelligence and its manifestation into powerful messaging. And, despite how technical or esoteric the topic may seemingly be, there is a larger theme contained within the data companies mine or record.

That lesson, reduced to its essence is communicate with respect and precision. Know your audience and know it well so you can market your goods and wares or your products and services in a way that reflects the reality of a given situation. Put a different way; say all you should say – all you need to say – with only the most memorable words that matter to your audience.

Practice the art of excellence in marketing using Big Data.