Marketers’ Analytics Strategies Extend to the C-Suite

Data and analytics capabilities have become a top priority for businesses, with many organizations using the discipline to help gain a competitive advantage and improve the customer experience. In fact, many organizations place such high value on data and analytics that primary responsibility for the function lies with the company CEO. According to a September 2015 survey of executives on their organizations’ analytics strategies by McKinsey & Company, 38% of respondents said primary responsibility for the specialty rested with the CEO, more than any other position mentioned.

Even for respondents from organizations who said their CEO did not have primary responsibility for analytics, many emphasized the importance of senior-management involvement in such programs. A quarter of respondents said ensuring senior-management involvement was the most significant reason for their organizations’ effectiveness at data and analytics.

The high priority for analytics capabilities found in McKinsey’s survey matches with investment trends noted in other research. For example, research from the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 43% of executives in the US and Europe believed analytics and big data will be the most important digital competencies at their company in the next three years.

In addition, a survey from Black Ink ROI looked at the changes in analytics budgets for 2016 among US marketing managers. Some 80% of respondents expected their 2016 budgets to either increase or stay the same, reiterating the discipline’s importance.

Courtesy of eMarketer