Data: Brands, Marketing & Politics

India is gripped into the election fever as we gear up for our 2024 Loksabha elections. However, this article is not about politics or political parties. The whole idea of writing this article is different and crucial from the marketing perspective. Sounds interesting? Yes, indeed! 

Let's highlight one of the common elements that elections, political parties, and marketing people share, i.e., Data. It's intriguing how political parties use data in their election planning and execution, from candidate selection to analyzing past election results and understanding the area demographics to finalize the seat-sharing formulas with the coalition. At every stage, you will find decisions taken based on data. 

In today's digital world, data is the ultimate tool to keep your marketing arsenal up and to run. Irrespective of the business size, sale value, or geo reach, brands cannot survive without the right data insights. 

In my last 15 years as a marketing professional, I have seen a few organizations that make the best of their available data. However, moving ahead, brands cannot afford to make the same mistake. They should cover every inch and corner of their marketing playground to make the right decisions at the right time. 

So, what's the road ahead?

1. Be patient with data: Unfortunately, many organizations are not ready to invest the required time in data exploration and have the habit of preferring an Instant Marketing Mix. However, with competition and decreasing customer interest span, brands cannot afford to make the same mistake now. 

2. Build data-driven setup: Interestingly, many brands today lack a robust data-driven setup for numerous reasons, including budget constraints, traditional mindset, etc. However, moving ahead, they need to think of this setup as an essential element of business growth. 

3. Identify key data points: When we think of data, it is a huge playground! However, we need to identify the key data pointers that can add value to the overall business growth. Traditionally, this skill set is missing in most of the organizations. However, with the changing business dynamics, the brands should figure out the key KPIs that make a difference to their business. 

4. Hiring data professionals: Now, the most important thing to consider. Moving ahead, the brands must invest and hire the right resources to fulfill their data demands. No longer can brands sustain and survive without the data professionals to make the right business decisions and precise marketing messaging. 

It's high time brands take references from political parties to make the right data-driven decisions. Like political parties, if brands' decisions are data-driven, there is less possibility of brands committing marketing blunders. 

Please remember it does not matter how long you have existed in the market and who your customers are; if you fail to move along the market demands, you will lose the final battle.