tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36395142.post7146429457952102030..comments2024-03-13T01:18:43.423-04:00Comments on B2B Marketing Confidential: Are Marketing Data Expanding Faster than the Universe?Andy Hasselwanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869868619437363614noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36395142.post-57763231546089637302010-01-08T08:57:01.110-05:002010-01-08T08:57:01.110-05:00I agree with Andy that data is growing at a much m...I agree with Andy that data is growing at a much more rapid pace than anyone can reasonably keep up with. Tim is also correct, and the problem with all of this data is that it it decidedly NOT actionable information.<br /><br />For this data to be actionable (and therefore of any serious value), it must be able to identify groups that will behave in predictable ways when faced with certain stimulus. Only then have you taken a whole mess of data and distilled it into something that will actually help you optimize your marketing efforts.<br /><br />So we're back to Tim's original question: should we just fling the kitchen sink at the whole universe to see what sticks or should we run some algorithms on the data to try and isolate some distinct groups for more specialized treatment? In a perfect world it would be some combination of the two whereby the blasting is a data acquisition and hypothesis testing exercise. Of course, the consultants to run such an exercise will also jack up the cost :)<br /><br />What I'd like to know is what are the meaningful data points? Which variables would have strong correlations to actual behavior? I think Tim's right that the traditional segments based on geography/size/industry etc. are increasingly outdated. So what's important now? I would posit that the age of the founder and their broad industry could be important. For instance, I would expect a 45-year old founder of a brand new flooring company to behave in a demonstrably different way from a 26-year old who recently started a social networking optimization firm.<br /><br />What else?Adam Gierischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36395142.post-37863814531092077872010-01-04T16:41:27.655-05:002010-01-04T16:41:27.655-05:00So here is a simple trade-off question: when is da...So here is a simple trade-off question: when is data insight more valuable than just raw contact volume?<br /><br />We do indeed have exponential data growth from what is likely 10X the number of captured customer interactions each with 10X the depth of data. But while both storage and processing power might enable us to generate insightful behaviorial segmentation and targeting based on thse richer data sets, so too is it easy and cheaper just to blast contact everyone in the universe -- over and over!!!<br /><br />The issue it seems to me is not processing all the data but rather IDing the most predictive data. Most research at MarketBridge is showing that traditional B2B segmentation variables such as SIC code and employee size are increasingly non-predicitve and show very low correlations to behavior.<br /><br />Until a company finds the right data on which to focus, blast marekting might actually be more cost effective. LOL. The fact is, the right, highly predictive data IS out there if/when companies find it through either post facto analysis or better yet real a priori experimental design.Tim Fureyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15009325692853204131noreply@blogger.com