Data-driven game plan with endless possibilities

"The Grid. A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then, one day ..."

Yes, suddenly the day is here when AI is a reality and every successful business needs a data-driven strategy.

Stay ahead of the curve

With AI at the center of online discussions, marketers need to adapt to a data-driven playing field where the possibilities are endless. 86% of CMOs intend to increase their investment in AI-driven marketing activities in 2024-25. Kevin Flynn (Tron: Legacy, Disney) was as excited about the future as we are, but as with any new advancement, it's just as important to stay ahead of the curve and in this article we'll explore how, through the use of a data-driven approach.

Maximizing the value of AI as a human

In social media analytics, we look at lots of data. Data is everywhere, but what really matters is what conclusions you can draw from it. Moreover, combining different data sources can lead to unexpected discoveries. The use of 'negative personas' can dramatically change the way you design your digital campaigns. With the emergence of CDPs (customer databases), data will follow you everywhere and remind you (retargeting) if you get lost. As a marketer, it is therefore important to analyze data and design strategies that make the best use of AI while staying true to the human perspective. It's no secret that 2024 is being called the first year of a collective AI fatigue.

Many reasons to be data-driven

Today's consumers are nuanced, diverse individuals, and creating truly effective marketing requires a deeper understanding that goes beyond age, income and location. As many analyses show, it is that - creating messages that resonate on a personal level, addressing their specific concerns directly and anticipating their needs before they even arise - that is key to driving conversions forward. One area could be to use multiple data sources for website personalization, such as optimizing consumers' web experiences based on what they say in mobile conversations. To do this, you can transfer call tracking data to a platform that optimizes your website. This way, you combine a human-centered approach with the digital world, without disrupting your existing business model. But to simplify it, you need to be data-driven because it empowers you:

• Information for better decision-making.
• Ability to trust more than your instincts, through third-party evidence.
• Tools for problem identification and innovation.
• Power to increase customer centricity in the organization.
• Opportunity for continuous improvement against company goals and set KPIs.
• Insights into what the future will bring.
• Faster and more accurate decisions.

As the tentacles of AI continue to weave their way into everyday life, it also opens up huge opportunities for marketing. The holy grail is knowing what the future will bring. While not a new phenomenon, the field of predictive analytics will reach new heights in 2024-25. Predictive analytics and AI will enable businesses to make decisions faster and more accurately than ever before. However, the technology also brings some challenges. For example, businesses need to ensure that their algorithms are not biased and that they are transparent in their decision-making processes. In addition, companies need to ensure that they do not rely too heavily on technology and that, as mentioned earlier, they still take human input into account. A typical use would be sentiment analysis, where opinions expressed on social media are collected and analyzed to predict customers' attitude towards a specific topic or product.

The second marketing revolution

But our journey does not end here. We are rapidly moving towards the second revolution of marketing, all driven by AI and machine learning. Prescriptive analytics goes beyond predictive analytics to suggest future solutions. It considers different courses of action and their beneficial outcomes. It uses a feedback system to learn and update the relationship between actions and outcomes. The computation involves optimizing features related to desired products. So, in the future, we will not only know what consumers prefer, but also be able to design our services and products to fit the desired situation. As a result, the evolution of meta-services will continue to grow in the coming years. Meta-services can best be described as services, apps or products that add a second layer of information on top of the existing one to add even more value and ease of use.

Trust in data-driven insights is key

So, where do we land as marketers in the future? If we embrace the evolution, we will be able to act proactively. Whether it's measurement or interpretation, curation or personalization, trust in data-driven insights is crucial. Brands cannot step into the future if they don't have confidence in the data and insights that drive their development. More and more, quantities of data will be replaced by qualities.

" And then, one day...I got in!"

If you want to learn more about how to adapt to an ever-changing market, don't hesitate to get in touch. And above all, learn how to stay on top of the trends with a data-driven mindset.