Survey: More Marketers Expected To Embrace Big Data in 2014

Published: December 19, 2013

According to a survey from Infogroup Targeting Solutions (ITS), nine out of 10 marketers plan on investing in Big Data solutions and 54% have already done so.

Conducted at the Direct Marketing Association’s 2013 Annual Conference, the survey polled nearly 400 mid-and upper-level marketing professionals on their plans for 2014, attitudes toward technology adoption and budget considerations. Of those who have already invested in Big Data, a majority (85%) are already seeing returns. By contrast, 33% who described themselves as “uncertain” about the role of Big Data estimate that they will invest in five years or more.

The 2013 survey found that those who have already invested in Big Data were more likely to invest in real-time technologies in 2014. Nearly three quarters (72%) of Big Data investors intended to invest in real-time technology next year, compared with 18% of all respondents.

Budget limitations may be to blame among those who lag behind with Big Data, real-time, multichannel and other efforts. While nearly a third of marketers are executing data-driven multichannel campaigns through a single integrated platform, 35% say they haven’t yet used Big Data for multichannel due to budget limitations. Eleven percent of marketers, however, say no such limitations exist to prevent them from using Big Data to deliver multichannel marketing programs.

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“We’re at a turning point with Big Data, real-time and other technologies that have, until recently, served as little more than buzzwords,” said Dave McRae, president of ITS, which provides data, sales  and multichannel marketing solutions. “Now is the time to step up and invest in technologies that will reap the most rewards. Moving forward, the challenge will be to determine which solutions garner results for a given organization and how to incorporate findings from new technology into future efforts.”

“While technology adoption isn’t always an indicator of marketing sophistication, the survey shows that marketers are still behind when it comes to understanding how to get the most out of Big Data,” said McRae. “In 2014, the successful marketer will be decisive and intuitive. Savvy marketers will invest in the tools and adopt strategies that have the greatest potential of delivering return.”

A full report on the DMA survey findings will be available on the ITS’ website in January 2014.

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