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Heat waves. Ongoing war. Rising gas prices. Looming recession. Political division. And another spike in Covid cases. The list goes on, each event stamped with the word “unprecedented.” Dealing with disruption has been a years-long nightmare for marketers. There’s no end in sight. 

CMOs are doing the right thing by turning to data marketing for answers, hoping to spot sudden changes in market and customer behavior and get ahead of the next disruption.  We’ve entered a new era of high-velocity data marketing.

Related: Check out our newest report The High-Velocity Data Marketer

But is your data engine humming or sputtering? Are actionable data insights here in time or here too late? Are you getting ahead of disruption or being run over by it? If your data systems rely on historical data, then you’re in a bit of trouble. A sluggish data system also will miss the moment to move a customer down the path to purchase. 

Sadly, there are more laggards than leaders. Two out of three marketing leaders are not very confident in their data systems to win and retain customers, according to the newest report from CMO Council, The High-Velocity Data Marketer.

High-velocity data marketers can lift many of marketing’s most important KPIs, such as content response and conversion, advertising performance metrics, site traffic and path to purchase, return on marketing investments, among others. Access to data insights is one of the more critical capabilities. More than 90% of marketers who have direct access to their customer data say it provides them with a competitive advantage.

While some data marketers might be in poll position, others at the back, the race to high-velocity data marketing is just getting started. Many twists and turns lie ahead. Leaders will need to excel in accessing real-time behavioral insights, closing the gap from data to action, creating adaptable and agile data systems, making AI pervasive, and avoiding data blockers. 

“The further on you get, the more you realize you’ve got a long, long way to go,” says CMO Marcus Wild at Fisher Funds, in the CMO Council report.

When asked what data capabilities are still out of reach, the top two answers in the report were:

1. Real-time availability of insights
2. Predictive analytics

When asked what’s holding marketing back in high-velocity data marketing, the top four answers were: 

1. Systems that connect data silos and boost accessibility
2. Talent to move from data aggregation to utilization
3. Budget to execute new data system improvements
4. Complex digital footprint of brand and customer

Despite many challenges to overcome, outcomes lying just out of reach, the report’s main takeaway is that there’s an opportunity for CMOs to advance up the data marketing maturity curve. The CMO Council report is chock full of insights and recommendations on how to become a high-velocity data marketing. Download The High-Velocity Data Marketer.

Related: Get ahead of the disruption! Become a CMO Council Member today!