This article is an excerpt from Experian Marketing Services’ 2016 Digital Marketer Report. Download the full report to discover more insights and trends for the upcoming year!
The Chief Data Officer is a marketer’s new best friend
Marketers have long sought to gain as much information as possible about the consumer. The more we know, the more likely it is that we’ll be able to increase conversion and customer loyalty. However, data is not always easy for a marketer to access or manipulate, making data management and insight difficult.
This is especially true when we consider the state of data management today. Most organizations suffer from a high degree of inaccurate data and segmented data sources. Most data management occurs within individual departments, many of which lack the technology and human resources to manipulate data for insight. It should come as no surprise that 83 percent of businesses believe data is a valuable organizational asset that is not being fully exploited, according to a recent Experian Data Quality study.
Marketers have certainly started to utilize more sophisticated technology practices and analytical staff in the past few years, but they have only begun to scratch the surface in terms of the insights to be gleaned from accurate data.
However, a new trend is emerging within many larger organizations that could improve a marketer’s ability to mine data for insight. This is the advent of the Chief Data Officer (CDO), a new role that is seen as a trusted advisor and guardian of data within the business. In the organizations we work with frequently, the key reasons for needing a CDO are to manage risk during data-driven projects, curb increasing costs around poor data quality and assist with an increasingly regulatory environment.
This new individual isn’t alone. The CDO comes with a team of data specialists that often includes data analysts, data scientists and data warehouse specialists. The CDO often reports into the Chief Information Officer or Chief Executive Officer.
While this role is only seen today in a small number of businesses, adoption of this role is accelerating quickly. Gartner predicts that 50 percent of all companies in regulated industries will have a CDO by 2017, according to research conducted by Debra Logan, Vice President and Gartner Fellow.
Several years ago, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) had to adjust to working with the Chief Technology Officer when adding a host of new technologies. The CMO now needs to work with the CDO to gain better access to information and insight around data. This individual can help provide the marketer with easy access to data that is prepared for given marketing tasks.
With all of the struggles marketers have had finding quality, accessible data over the years, the advent of the CDO could bring about a new chapter in data intelligence.
