Big Data Really Can't Solve A Marketer's Problem

Albert Einstein once said “If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

That comes out to roughly 92% of the time Einstein would use over the course of an hour in thinking about a problem vs. the 8% he would leave aside for actually solving it. Clearly, when it comes to the problem of big data, marketers have spent nearly the same percentage on the problem itself vs. addressing the problem head on with a solution.

That point was essentially echoed by Oracle Marketing Cloud GM and SVP Kevin Akeroyd in a new AdWeek article out today. Some of the key points made by Akeroyd include:

• "The truth is that big data, by itself, really can't solve a marketer's problems. In fact, it's likely to lead to more problems. It's not about 'big' data. It's about the 'right' data, activated the right way, in the right channels, at the right time."
• "You can't truly make sense of your data or its usefulness if that data is spread across different marketing platforms."
• "Effective use of data across multiple channels begins with centralizing all of your key data sets."
• "Keeping a platform up-to-date with all (the) new technologies can sound daunting, but if your platform is an adaptable, open framework, new technologies won't pose a threat to centralization."

The topic of big data is, of course, not a new one by any means. Every marketer the world over is aware of the sheer amount of data that is being created every single day, hour, minute and second. "Marketers need plenty of data," says Akeroyd. "But it really comes down to how you use it and your ability to activate the right data at the right time for the right individual."

In other words, marketers need to spend more than 8% of their time thinking about the solution to the problem.

One way to do just that is by downloading the Modern Marketing Essentials Guide to Data Management.