Marketers Still Struggle to Harness Power of Big Data [Study]

Ninety-two percent of companies who always sufficiently use data said they have met or exceeded their goals, according to a recent big data report by Rocket Fuel.

Big data is paying off in big ways for companies able to harness its potential. Seventy-five percent of respondents who use big data to drive more than half of their marketing strategies said that they are able to monetize their audience, according to the report.

Likewise, the same percentage responded that they are making the right media buys, compared to 50 percent of those who use big data in less than half of their programs.

Meanwhile, organizations that use big data to drive more than half of their marketing initiative are better able to pinpoint areas where their marketing initiatives are a waste of money, the report says.

Nevertheless, most advertising agencies and other companies are only tapping into part of big data’s potential.

Nearly half of respondents said that they are unable to monetize their audience sufficiently. Other key audience insights included:

• More than 4 in 10 respondents cannot figure out who likes their products.
• 45 percent are unable to determine why their clients like their products.
• Merely 45 percent of organizations surveyed responded that they are able to pinpoint the right audience most of the time.

These shortcomings in using big data may come from a misconception that advertisers and marketers believe they are using big data enough while they are not, says the report. Only one third of the advertising agencies surveyed use big data to drive more than half of their marketing initiatives. Even fewer non-agency companies (nearly 10 percent) do so.

This suggests that both corporate executives and executives at ad agencies fail to recognize what they are missing out on. In fact, a very low percentage of the senior executives surveyed realized main challenges in using big data. These major challlenges include:

• Lack of understating of big data and its benefits.
• Lack of technology resources to collect enough information.
• Lack of relevant data to analyze consumer behavior.

In addition, the report reveals that 27 percent of advertising agency executives and 24 percent of senior marketers are uncertain how to get the most of the data at hand.

This big data report was based on a Forbes Insights survey and conducted in association with Rocket Fuel, a provider of artificial intelligence advertising solutions.