Data-driven marketing: how do we strike a balance between art & science?

When we look at a piece of art, we don’t just see that piece of art as a static object in front of us, we experience it through the emotions it can make us feel. Art has the ability to inspire us, fuel our desires, and move us to action by driving our yearning to be greater than we are.

 A major influence in the way we feel about art comes from the artist themselves. The technique used in creating a painting could be perfectly executed, but without the human element behind it, without the emotion, it’s unlikely to evoke any sense of connection with the art by those who see it. Therefore, there needs to be an equilibrium between technique and emotion.

 I believe this same principle can be applied to the development of marketing strategies that are driven by data analytics and the insights gained thereof.

 The rise of data in marketing

Consumer purchasing behaviour has dramatically changed over the last few years as people have become more discerning with regards to what they choose to buy and who they choose to buy from. Right now, consumer behaviour is going through another massive shift as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we shop and what we want to, or need to, shop for and this will have a long-lasting effect on consumer expectations in the long-term.

Data-driven marketing is helping businesses create targeted marketing campaigns that meet ever-evolving customer demands by analysing and applying all the information behind customer motivations and behaviours, thereby helping to close the gap between marketing and actualised sales.

When businesses make use of data analysis to understand their customers better, they are able to engage them with rich, personalised digital marketing experiences. Leveraging the power of cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, as the backbone of data analysis can support businesses’ ability to quickly build and launch digital campaigns that can rapidly scale up or down based on real-time customer demand, and offer solutions to their individual problems.

Consumers today respond better to personalised communication and experiences that speak to exactly what they want or need, which also caters to convenience.

Business must remember that people lie at the core of marketing

While data analytics provides insight into what motivates consumers, that data alone cannot ensure that a business is able to reach consumers in a way that convinces them to make use of or purchase what they are offering. Products and services are no longer a key differentiator between brands, and the relationships that businesses form with customers and the public has become one of the most important factors when it comes to creating brand affinity.

Cultivating relationships with current and future customers requires businesses to create authentic communication that does not feel like it was created by an algorithm. Technology only gives businesses the ability to better understand what the consumer is looking for, it should not create that content for them.

In essence, the only way to connect more meaningfully with consumers is to create marketing campaigns that speak to them at a basic human level, and this can only be created by people for people.

This requires a level of marketing skill that is closer to an art than an exact science. While tools like Dynamics 365 help business build significantly more rewarding relationships when improving customer communications, these tools are meant to be assistive and cannot replace the benefit of an experienced marketer.

Data analysis allows marketers to effectively generate demand in consumers by understanding their wants and needs. But, marketers are able to persuade consumers to act on that demand, in the form of sales, by appealing to them through an emotional connection. So, as it is in the fine arts, so too must successful marketing campaigns be able to balance both technique (science) with emotion (art).