Report: Successful CMOs Show More Confidence in Handling Data

With the growth of data and analytics, new research indicates that successful CMOs have prepared themselves to handle the abundance of information. This is according to a new IBM report that looks at the responses to several questions from senior marketers around the globe.

The results discovered that as of 2015, about 36 percent of all CMOs believe they are better prepared for the data explosion than they were in 2013. This is an increase from the 18 percent who said the same two years ago.

However, there was a significant difference in responses between “Torchbearer” CMOs and “Market Follower” CMOs when it came to confidence in the ability to handle data. IBM defined Torchbearers as those with a strong reputation as innovators and a successful financial track record. Market Followers were defined as respondents with low market profiles and less financial success.

About 47 percent of Torchbearers said they were confident in managing the ample amount of data. Just 27 percent of Market Followers said the same.

Marketing with an Abundance of Data

Since 2015, marketers have been grappling with the challenge of data and analytics. A white paper from the CMO Council titled, “The Path Forward: Marketing’s Outlook into the Digital Future” discovered that last year, 46 percent considered their organizations to be “fair” at handling the data explosion. Approximately 18 percent said they were “poor” at handling it, while 26 percent stated that they were “poor” when it came to analyzing data to create personalized experiences.

Just 26 percent stated that they were doing “well” in terms of managing the data explosion, while 4 percent said “very well.”