Data in Marketing

The relationship between data and marketing success is undeniable. In today's world, neither works without the other. Further, the bidirectional link is growing stronger. Data drives superior work in communication, noted Ogilvy's COO in this article acclaiming the recent announcement that we were awarded BtoB's 2007 Direct Agency of the Year. In our loyalty division, data is paramount. It drives websites. It drives consumer behavior. It drives business reaction, forecasting, modeling, segmentation and more.

Techniques such as promotions, discounts / coupons are best done when targeted to a carefully defined group of people with common characteristics. Offering me $25 off a weekday car rental won't do a thing if I only rent cars on the weekend. Are customers who visit frequently and spend less per visit are of equal value than those who seldom visit but spend the same in total? How do you measure their value? Part of the answer lies in the differing amount of service offered to these two customers. One can look at profile information, test different marketing approaches, and follow that by analyzing the data.