Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog, "Why Data Is Critical In Building Trust"

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Why Data Is Critical In Building Trust" examines why data collection and analytics are a critical component in building trust, both internally and externally for clients and prospects. Big data burst onto the scene in recent years and with the advent of new technologies designed to provide better and more accurate data collection, most marketing initiatives are at least looking at data analytics.

The "flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants" era is over, as data collection and the subsequent analyses of collected data greatly improves the outcomes of a host of marketing challenges. As 2019 gets underway, marketers are now being faced with performance execution, while a good many are slowly coming to the realization that having trustworthy data available can make all the difference.

The Push For Data

A number of data tools have been introduced into the marketplace over the past several years. These data tools can be found across an array of social media channels, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others that provide useful dashboards to report on how a particular marketing campaign is performing. Automated email marketing concerns such as Mail Chimp, Constant Contact and others use a version of data collection for example, to provide users with how their email campaigns are being received, opened, bounced (rates), and so on.

Artificial Intelligence (aka AI) and machine learning are now becoming ubiquitous in its acquisition and usage of data collection, which allows real time in the moment processing power. You would think that top organizations, agencies and marketers would be flocking to insert data collection and analysis best practices for improved results and the ability to obtain a clearer understanding of their marketplace and clients.

A new report from MIT SMR sheds light on the state of data programs among a respondent base of over 2,400 business leaders. What is interesting about this report is that only a minority of respondents stated that they have the data they need for decision-making.

Trust Delivers Value

In recent posts, we've covered which marketing disciplines deliver the highest trust value among consumers, by which print marketing is currently being heralded as the most trusted marketing medium. The MIT SMR report on data and trust goes much farther than advertising or marketing and looks into various business types that are using data collection and data analytics to form better, more informed outcomes, and to that end, marketers and brands should be cognizant of the report's findings.

A direct snippet from the MIT SMR report states: "For leaders of organizations still striving to achieve analytics maturity, the testimony from practitioners — who range from data leaders at multinational corporations to the head of a small municipal government team — is particularly useful. Their chief lesson: Communication and collaboration between analytics and business experts lead to mutual understanding and measurable benefits. In other words, trust delivers value."

There Are Gaps In Trust

With all of the data being mined and analyzed, you would think more businesses would be investing in data collection and data analysis, including making a concerted effort to instill a data collection mindset culture within their organizations. According to the report, the following of what the report labels as a "Utility Gap" signals a lack of trust among respondents, in which only a minority actually believe they have acquired the data that they need for decision-making. The following data points support this assessment:

• 2017: 78% of respondents reported a somewhat or significantly improved access to useful data over the past year
• 2017: 44% of respondents reported either frequently or always having the right data to inform business decisions
• 2018: 76% of respondents reported a somewhat or significantly improved access to useful data over the past year
• 2018: 43% of respondents reported either frequently or always having the right data to inform business decisions

While big data is growing in its importance, the aforementioned numbers indicate that 2018's data trust dropped in both areas. No doubt a myriad of circumstances could be behind why some are questioning if they have the "right" data. And to that end, the report states only a small minority of respondents stated they 'always' trust the data.

And these respondents are making a judgement call based on qualities such as relevance, completeness, timeliness and accuracy.

Data Accuracy - Most Trusted Quality

Out of all the benchmarks in this report, accuracy leads the findings. What is interesting about this report is the distinction being made as to when, or the timing these respondents are making assumptions based on: always, often, sometimes, rarely and never.

What we can glean from these survey respondents is that few of them are always confident in the quality of their data analytics. The following list depicts respondent's trust in their data:

Relevant

• 11% = Always
• 43% = Often
• 40% = Sometimes
• 6% = Rarely
• 1% = Never

Complete

• 6% = Always
• 28% = Often
• 42% = Sometimes
• 21% = Rarely
• 3% = Never

Up-to-Date

• 12% = Always
• 44% = Often
• 34% = Sometimes
• 9% = Rarely
• 1% = Never

Accurate

• 9% = Always
• 47% = Often
• 37% = Sometimes
• 6% = Rarely
• 1% = Never

Quality issues, of which the largest group was reactive to, is a practice that Jeanne Ross, principal research scientist at MIT Center for Information Systems Research advises against. To that end, the report also states that attempting to fix data after the point of collection is "the worst place to fix it." Conversely, data accuracy and quality needs to focus on the processes that capture the data, albeit from the business or from customers.

Data Quality Requires Investment

Data capture and analysis requires investing in a number of areas including machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing algorithms, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis, just for understanding customer complaints.

That is why data acquisition and analytics require businesses to employ a data specialist, such as a chief data officer or chief analytics officer. Having a dedicated data specialist will help ensure that better data mining practices are being employed, which in turn will lead to the right data to inform business decisions.

Variable Digital Print Technology Thrives From Data

For a number of years now, personalized direct mail marketing has benefited greatly from data acquisition, which provides specific information to target prospects and customers by a range of variables. These variables can include zip codes, household income, education levels, purchasing history, age, gender, likes and dislikes, ethnicity and more.

As a result, personalized direct mail marketing has risen to the top of the most trusted mediums in the current customer set. Consequently, direct mail marketing is also being heralded as a significant marketing tool when it comes to improving email open rates, social media engagement, higher purchasing numbers after having received a direct mail piece, and an overall trustworthiness factor that digital marketing is currently lacking overall.

The Net-Net

Data acquisition and the resulting analysis of that data makes all the difference, both in the culture of an organization and the customer facing marketing initiatives a business advances. Developing trust is paramount with building loyal customers. We contend that paying attention to data details will become the de facto premise and reasoning behind all successful business operations. Flying by the seat of the pants and relying on pure intuition is over. Thanks for reading "Why Data Is Critical In Building Trust."

Dove Direct is the Southeast's leading print, marketing and mailing organization with over 30+ years experience. We would be pleased to discuss your needs with no obligation. If you like, let's have a conversation about data management, brand equity and unified marketing collateral during our next Open House. You can join us on Thursday, January 31st, 2019, anytime between 9:30 am to 4:30 pm ET. Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop and mailing capabilities. And, if you bring us your files, we will create a demo file for you. For more information call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Dove Direct offers organizations end-to-end transactional marketing: Data Management, Variable Digital Printing, LetterShop and Fulfillment, Fully Automated MLOCR Presort Bureau, Marketing and Production Management Support and Secure Data Life Cycle Management.

If you don't want to wait for the Open House, you can reach Dove Direct today by calling 404-629-0122 or use the contact form for Dove Direct.