January 09, 2017, Bristol, UK and Boston, MA: 72% of marketers consider data analysis to be the most important skill for their organization to acquire over the next two years according to a new report from international marketing technology brand BlueVenn: Customer Data: The Monster Under the Bed?
The report, which incorporates research from 200 UK and US marketers, reveals the skills and attributes that marketers feel they need to acquire in order to survive today’s data-centric marketing landscape.
With 72% of marketers hoping to acquire data analysis skills in the next two years, data management is now considered more vital than social media (65%), web development (31%), graphics design (23%) and search engine optimization (13%). Despite this fact however, 27% of marketers are still handing over the process of data analysis to the IT department.
Focus on understanding customer data is especially prevalent in large enterprises, where 4 out of 5 marketers (80%) consider data analysis to be a “vital” skill. Data segmentation and modeling are also considered highly sought-after marketing skills, ranking higher than both web development and graphic design within the enterprise space.
Commenting on these findings, Anthony Botibol, Marketing Director at BlueVenn, said:
“In the age of big data, marketers have a better opportunity than ever before to truly understand their customers’ decision making processes. Unfortunately, as it stands, most marketers simply don’t have the time, the knowledge or the tools necessary to undertake this task in a practical and effective way.
“While there is definitely a skills shortage when it comes to data analysis, I would argue that marketers shouldn’t have to skill-up in order to achieve this. Nobody should need a degree in data science to generate value from their customers’ information. It’s up to our industry to deliver the necessary technology to radically simplify the task. Until marketers are provided with the tools and technology, they will never unlock the true potential of their customers’ data.”
ENDS
About BlueVenn
BlueVenn provide marketers with tools for powerful analytics, integrated campaign management, modeling, reporting and email communications through the BlueVenn Marketing Platform. Combined with years of experience building Single Customer View databases for some of the largest B2C organizations in the world, the BlueVenn products and solutions are at the forefront of a marketing big data revolution, redefining how marketers work and interact with their customers.
BlueVenn’s clients include GateHouse Media, Sony, Next, Subaru, The Washington Post, The American Automobile Association, Lego, lastminute.com and SunLife.
While data duties are taking up more time than before, most marketers don't want to become data scientists. Instead they want their marketing tools to make the tasks of unifying, cleansing and matching customer data more automated.
The Customer Data: The Monster Under the Bed guide book for marketers takes a closer at data analytics – the monster under the bed – to learn whether there really is a 'marketing skills gap', or a 'marketing technology gap'.
