Purpose

In the current business environment, more uncertain than ever before, understanding consumer behavior is an integral part of an organization's strategic planning and execution process. It is the key driver for becoming a market leader. Therefore, it is important that all processes in business are customer centric. Marketers need to harness big data by engaging in data driven-marketing (DDM) to help organizations choose the “right” customers, to “keep” and “grow” them and to sustain “growth” and “profitability”. This research examines DDM adoption practices and how companies can aim to enhance shareholder value by bringing about “customer centricity”.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey conducted in 2016 received 180 responses from junior, middle and senior executives. Of the total responses, 26% were from senior management, 39% from middle management and the remaining 35% from junior management. Industries represented in the survey included retail, BFSI, healthcare and government, automobile, telecommunication, transport and logistics and IT. Other industries represented were aviation, marketing research and consulting, hospitality, advertising and media and human resource.

Findings

Success of DDM depends upon how well an organization embraces the practice. The first and foremost indicator of an organization's commitment is the extent of resources invested for DDM. Respondents were divided into four categories; Laggards, Dabblers, Contenders and Leaders based on their “current level of investments” and “willingness to enhance investments” soon.

Research limitations/implications

With storming digital age and the development of analytics, the process of decision-making has gained significant importance. Judgment and intuition too are critical to the process. Choosing an appropriate action cannot be done strictly on a rational basis.

Practical implications

The results of the study offer interesting implications for managing the growing sea of data. An iterative and incremental approach is the need of the hour, even if it has to start with baby steps, to invest in and reap the fruits of DDM. The intention to use any system is always dependent on two primary belief factors: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use; however, attitudes and social factors are equally important.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of knowledge with regards to who is and is not adopting DDM, and how best big data can be harnessed for enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of marketing budget. It is, therefore, imperative to build a knowledge base on DDM practices, challenges and opportunities. Better use of data can help companies enhance shareholder value by bringing about “customer centricity”.

中文翻译：

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数据驱动的营销促进增长和盈利

目的

在当前比以往任何时候都更加不确定的商业环境中，了解消费者行为是组织战略规划和执行过程中不可或缺的一部分。它是成为市场领导者的关键驱动力。因此，重要的是业务中的所有流程都以客户为中心。营销人员需要通过参与数据驱动营销 (DDM) 来利用大数据，以帮助组织选择“合适的”客户、“留住”和“发展”他们并维持“增长”和“盈利能力”。这项研究考察了 DDM 的采用实践以及公司如何通过实现“以客户为中心”来提高股东价值。

设计/方法/方法

2016 年进行的一项在线调查收到了来自初级、中层和高级管理人员的 180 份回复。在所有回复中，26% 来自高级管理人员，39% 来自中层管理人员，其余 35% 来自初级管理人员。参与调查的行业包括零售、BFSI、医疗保健和政府、汽车、电信、运输和物流以及 IT。其他代表的行业包括航空、营销研究和咨询、酒店、广告和媒体以及人力资源。

发现

DDM 的成功取决于组织对实践的接受程度。组织承诺的首要指标是为 DDM 投资的资源范围。受访者分为四类；落后者、涉足者、竞争者和领导者基于他们的“当前投资水平”和“近期增加投资的意愿”。

研究限制/影响

随着数字时代的迅猛发展和分析的发展，决策过程变得越来越重要。判断力和直觉对这个过程也很重要。不能严格地在理性的基础上选择适当的行动。

实际影响

研究结果为管理不断增长的海量数据提供了有趣的启示。迭代和增量方法是一个小时的需要，即使它必须从婴儿步开始，投资并收获 DDM 的成果。使用任何系统的意图总是取决于两个主要的信念因素：感知有用性和感知易用性；然而，态度和社会因素同样重要。

原创性/价值

关于谁正在采用和不采用 DDM，以及如何最好地利用大数据来提高营销预算的有效性和效率，人们缺乏知识。因此，必须建立一个关于 DDM 实践、挑战和机遇的知识库。更好地利用数据可以通过实现“以客户为中心”来帮助公司提高股东价值。