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Featured Article | CustomerThink: Maximizing Marketing and CX Team Impact Through Data-Driven Collaboration

This article was written by Greg Kihlstr?m for CustomerThink

TL;DR: A solid understanding of data allows marketers to actively contribute to data goals, enhance cross-functional teamwork, and maximize overall impact.

As marketing becomes more data-driven, collaboration between marketing and data teams becomes more and more essential for building effective strategies. Yet, a gap often exists: marketers may lack the data literacy needed to fully engage with their data-focused colleagues. Thus, by embracing data literacy, marketers can bridge this gap, align on shared goals, and improve team impact—the trifecta of data-driven collaboration. Let’s explore how a solid understanding of data allows marketers to actively contribute to data goals, enhance cross-functional teamwork, and maximize overall impact.

Building a Shared Data Language

In any collaborative setting, a shared language is essential. For marketing and data teams to work together effectively, both must understand the basic language of data. This isn’t about turning marketers into data scientists but rather giving them enough knowledge to interpret data-driven insights accurately and engage in meaningful discussions with data experts.

Let’s consider a hypothetical example: when a marketing and data team meet to discuss campaign performance, terms like “attribution model,” “data pipeline,” or “sampling error” may come up. A data-literate marketer understands these terms well enough to ask insightful questions, provide relevant feedback, and help shape strategies based on shared understanding.

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How can you enable this to work better? Consider developing a glossary of commonly used data terms that both teams can reference. Building this shared vocabulary promotes clarity and reduces misunderstandings that can arise from differing levels of familiarity with data concepts.

When both marketing and data teams speak a common language, communication flows more smoothly, resulting in better alignment on goals, faster problem-solving, and stronger collaboration overall.

Aligning Around Data Goals

For data to be impactful, marketing and data teams need to align on its purpose and goals. Data-literate marketers are better equipped to work with data teams to establish metrics and objectives that reflect the desired outcomes of marketing initiatives. This alignment helps both teams to stay focused on what truly matters and ensures that the data collected and reported supports marketing strategies.

For instance, if a marketing team is focused on brand awareness, they may prioritize metrics like reach, impressions, or engagement. A data-literate marketer can collaborate with data teams to build reports and dashboards tailored to these goals, helping everyone stay on the same page about what success looks like.

So what do you do about this? Regularly review and discuss data goals with the team. Ensure that metrics align with marketing priorities and reflect broader strategic objectives. Data literacy empowers marketers to confidently participate in these discussions, adding valuable context to data goals.

With aligned goals, data becomes a tool for accountability, enabling marketers to measure performance more effectively and make adjustments in real-time. This clarity leads to a more focused, goal-oriented marketing approach that resonates across teams.

Best Practices in Analyzing & Visualizing Data

Data visualization is a powerful tool for communicating complex insights quickly, but it must be done well to be effective. A data-literate marketer understands not just how to read visualizations but also best practices in data representation. This skill is invaluable in collaborative settings, as marketers often need to interpret and present data insights to stakeholders.

As an example, a marketer or CX professional presenting campaign results might use a line graph to show trends over time or a bar chart to compare audience segments. By understanding which visuals are best suited to different types of data, they can convey insights clearly, fostering better decision-making and alignment across teams.

To help, learn basic visualization principles, such as choosing the right chart type, keeping visuals uncluttered, and providing clear labels. If your team regularly presents data, consider standardizing on a few visualization styles to create a consistent language around data representation.

Given this, when marketers understand data visualization best practices, they become more effective at communicating insights to stakeholders, reducing the risk of misinterpretation and making it easier for everyone to act on the data.

What This Means for Leaders

Encouraging data literacy among marketers allows leaders to cultivate a data-driven culture that fosters collaboration. Leaders can support this by providing resources for data training and creating an environment where data-informed decisions are the norm. This approach doesn’t only benefit marketing outcomes; it also strengthens interdepartmental relationships and accelerates overall team performance.

Data-driven collaboration enables marketers to contribute more effectively to the insights and strategies that drive their campaigns. By building a shared language, aligning on goals, and mastering best practices in data visualization, marketers and data teams can maximize their impact and work in true partnership.

Embracing data literacy allows marketers to take an active role in data discussions, improving the effectiveness and alignment of their work. As a result, data no longer feels like an abstract tool but rather an integral part of the collaborative, strategic engine that propels marketing forward. By focusing on data literacy, marketers can unlock new levels of creativity, innovation, and impact for their teams and campaigns.

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This article was written by Greg Kihlstr?m for CustomerThink. Read the full article here.

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