Defining the Digital Marketing Data Supply Chain

How should marketers think about the inputs, operations, and outputs for today’s data-driven marketing campaigns?

As corporations become more data-driven and data-reliant, potential issues may arise surrounding how marketers process their day-to-day data operations. For example, organizations often place a large degree of focus on the infrastructure of data management (i.e. focusing on platforms, tech, storage, etc.) rather than the quality of the data coming into or going out of the system itself. The old adage, garbage in leads to garbage out.

A commonly recognized issue is how data from separate departments within an organization is processed independently, and not with the whole organization or the end product in mind. Nuances within each department can create confusion from the lack of a common data language (i.e. one department refers to inbound lead quality whereas another department refers to it as qualified leads, inbound opportunities, or even just conversions). Lastly, organizations often rely on external data that lack supplier qualification or quality assessment, which introduces another layer of ambiguity and variability.

Data supply chain management can address these issues by keeping in mind the end results of your marketing program’s data products; there should be an equal level of management on the collection, organization, and consumption of these final products. A great way to acquire high-quality data is to mimic the methods used by physical goods manufacturers to manage their process and suppliers. Specifically, these businesses address the sources of problems by defining their expectations, qualifying their suppliers, and making sure these suppliers are taking quality measurements. As part of our campaign management and execution services at ixperimint, clients are advised about the detailed steps used in their processes that can be mimicked to establish a data supply chain.

Businesses that engage in data supply chain management account for better outcomes from their operations. Implementing a stronger data evaluation and qualification function into your marketing program can create better data outcomes and lead to longer term organizational value.

For more information about ixperimint and how our services can assist your business with marketing strategies and data analysis, reach out to our experts today!