Join Penelope and I as we explore how using the right data points can supercharge marketing effectiveness

This week I sat down with?Penelope, founder of The Data Touch. Penelope, could you share with us the journey that led you to establish The Data Touch?

I spent 11 years in UK corporate life working in digital analytics across sectors and solving different problems with data. I was able to build some solid experience and I reached a point in my career where I felt I could add more impact by setting my own business. The Data Touch was born to address two key missions. Consulting wise, I wanted to “bring data into the boardroom”. Data people were still doing data in the corner in their organisation with little impact and I wanted to change that.

Training wise, I felt it was important to empower as many people with data knowledge as possible because data is a skill for everyone. In fact, if companies really want to reach data-driven stage, they must empower all their staff with data knowledge.

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One of the trends we have seen is increased investment to further understand Marketing Effectiveness - what do you think the most game-changing developments in marketing effectiveness that have emerged recently?

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This may come as a shock, but I actually think what’s game changing for marketing effectiveness is not the latest piece of Mar-tech or even AI, at least not right now…

What REALLY changes the game in busy marketing departments is data education AND the design and implementation of marketing measurement frameworks and of a marketing data strategy.

A measurement framework allows marketing teams to efficiently measure their effort day-to-day AND to take daily actions. It sounds basic but it doesn’t happen consistently. I see too many frantic conversations happening where marketing executives are struggling to pick the right metrics to report on because “the boss” is suddenly asking about the impact of the latest campaign/product launch. With a measurement framework, these unproductive and unnecessarily stressful conversations don’t need to happen anymore.

With regards to the role of AI in marketing effectiveness, this is something that can be addressed with a cool head when working on a marketing data strategy.

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Since the introduction of ChatGPT, AI has garnered significant attention - how do you see the role of data analytics evolve in the next few years with the continued development of AI??

I see less need for coding skills, but equally it’s important for data people to know what their AI tool of choice is doing. You must understand how AI and machine learning work under the hood as a data analyst or data scientist.?

This is why I still see statistics and maths as key core skills. The business and human skills needed to create impact with data are well documented but not there consistently. The reality is “practicing data” in an organisation is HARD. You have got to be good at critical thinking, maths, statistics, storytelling, alongside also demonstrating a strong business acumen AND excellent communication skill. It doesn’t happen overnight. None of this!

As AI continues to develop, what specific skills do you think professionals in data-related fields should prioritise learning?

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On top of the above skills, it’s important to understand the limitations of AI. Garbage in, garbage out STILL applies! Also, it’s important to stay current with the evolving legislation around AI and its usage. The EU have just come up with the first of its kind AI legislation and the US are also currently working on it. Other territories will follow.

Despite being labelled as "interesting, but boring", data analytics holds immense potential for enhancing marketing effectiveness. How do you propose leveraging this untapped potential to help organisations improve their marketing effectiveness??

I think the reason many stakeholders think data is boring is because they are not looking at the right data. I spend a lot of time working with clients and a lot of them are marketing teams to uncover the data points that are going to make a difference to them day-to-day. Not only can the right data points help with marketing effectiveness but on a more personal level, it can raise employee satisfaction! If you can measure the impact of your work, it just feels great. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen consistently enough!

Thanks Penelope Bellegarde !

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It’s clear that engaging freelance support can offer fresh insights and innovative approaches within marketing effectiveness frameworks - if you’re curious about how professionals such as Penelope can benefit your business, reach me easily on [email protected] for a chat!