The evolving importance of data
It wasn’t very long ago that the ability to analyze and visualize data was seen as a nice-to-have. Only a handful of data-minded managers really endeavored to acquire, organize, and learn from datasets.
But things have changed.
Today, it’s critical to understand data and to be able to communicate what it says. As vast volumes of work happen every day across teams and departments, engaging with the resulting data uncovers patterns and unlocks actionable insights.
So, what does that engagement look like? It starts with organizing the data.
Types of data
During the session, Iskander explained that marketing data can be organized into three buckets:
- Operational
- Tactical
- Strategic
Each type of data serves a unique purpose within the organization.
Operational
Operational data allows you to monitor what’s going on within the organization. It illuminates the efficiency (or lack thereof) of processes and resource usage, enabling optimization.
To provide a few examples, operational data includes data on:
- Digital asset access
- How those assets are used, and how that aligns (or doesn’t) with company policies, guidelines, and usage rights
- How assets are updated
- The time it takes for tasks to move through each stage in a process
- System response times
- How much storage assets consume
In short, this is the type of data that helps to keep the engine of the marketing org running smoothly.
Tactical data
Tactical data gives you a clear picture of how well specific campaigns, strategies, or assets performed.
That includes data on:
- The cost to create and distribute assets
- How specific digital assets performed in past campaigns
- Asset lifecycles
- Versioning, and when the latest improvements of a version led to higher engagement
With this type of data, teams are equipped to make data-driven decisions to optimize outcomes.
Strategic data
With strategic data, leaders get insights they can leverage to forecast future trends and support informed long-term decision-making.
Within this category, data can deliver:
- Predictive analytics on content and asset types
- Gap identification to determine where new assets will be needed
- Predictive analytics on audience behaviors, preferences, and engagement patterns
- Risk mitigation
Strategic data enables leaders to plan future campaigns and initiatives with a strong sense of direction and confidence.
Visualizing data
All three data types — operational, tactical, and strategic — are important for companies. But they only deliver advantages if leaders can see and understand what the data is saying. For that, data visualization plays a big role.
With visualized data, it’s easy to pinpoint peaks and valleys. Deviations — like campaigns that take longer to create or those that have notably higher engagement — stick out.
When the visualized data is regularly monitored, the patterns behind the peaks and valleys should become clear. This helps the team identify the reasons for wins along with areas for improvement. Both bottlenecks and opportunities to repeat and build on successes become visible.
In short, when operational, tactical, and strategic data get visualized, the organization gets information they can use to optimize timelines, budgets, and processes.
Building skills to build a strong data foundation
At the close of her session, Iskander encouraged attendees to become the data person in their organization’s DAM space. Data, she said, allows us to tell powerful stories, uncover hidden trends, and make smarter decisions.
She offered a few suggestions to help people hone their data skillset:
- Start each day with a data review
- Invest in learning to build data literacy
- Dedicate time to understanding your data
- Master tools like the DAM’s internal reporting capabilities or outside platforms (e.g., Microsoft’s Power BI)
- Ask questions and dig into data
The more people interact with data, the easier it becomes to glean insights. With a strong sense of curiosity and growing data literacy, marketing personnel are positioned to thrive in the years ahead.
Let your dataset inform your mindset, Iskander advised. Use it to guide your decisions, your strategies, and, ultimately, your success.
