• by Ray Schultz , November 30, 2017

Marketers, including those that send email, give themselves a C-minus or a grade of 73 in leveraging marketing intelligence, according to a study by Forrester, sponsored by Velocidi.

Worse, they award themselves a nearly failing grade of D, or 66, in data management -- a "foundational capability," Forrester says.

Among other things, they earn mediocre scores in people, culture, data management, benchmarking and activation. And they garner a "weak C" for organizational structures, Forrester reports.

Of the 273 firms surveyed in the U.S., 61% say their marketing intelligence looks backward rather than forward.

And 74% lack a chief data or analytics officer, or some other executive with an overview -- data is controlled by silos. Only 29% have a senior marketing champion for marketing intelligence.

Yet 88% say that reporting and analysis tools are important, and 92% want easy access to data for use in channels. Even better, 90% of firms are at some stage of executing or planning a marketing intelligence program.

"The growing availability of data was meant to be a boon to marketers — helping them improve campaign results, expand their capabilities and eliminate silos," states David Dunne, founder and CEO of Velocidi.

But the study shows “that for many marketers the opposite has occurred. In fact, they lack the tools and applications to get the most out of their campaigns,” he adds.

The obstacles include:

• Inadequate data science tools and applications — 42%
• Marketing planning/execution don’t adequately incorporate data and analytics — 41%
• Lack of experience in translating data into insights and actions — 33%
• Inadequate reporting and performance tools and applications — 32%
• Lack of staff resources — 30%
• Inadequate tools for distributing access to data and insights — 29% 
• Poor infrastructure for data collection, management, and storage — 29%
• Poorly defined/designed data collection practice — 28%
• Lac of support from executives — 28%
• Lack of technical expertise — 26%
• Poorly defined/designed data quality practices — 23% 

Dunne’s conclusion: “In order to remain competitive and connect with consumers, marketers need to transform their organizations with intelligent systems that are more than just a source of information — but a driver of insights and actionable recommendations."