If your marketing insights are consistently failing to drive action, it’s unlikely to be because they aren’t good enough. It’s more likely that your organization isn’t quite ready to act on them.
That’s an uncomfortable truth for many marketers, who often blame the data or ask for better analytics. But it’s something I’ve learnt to be true from working with marketing teams across industries, regions, and different levels of analytical maturity over many years. Until brands face this truth, the gap between the insights and the action that drives business growth will remain.
How big a problem is this? Half of marketers said the gap between insights and action at their organization was “significant” or “substantial”, according to a recent survey that featured in Gain Theory’s Unfinished Business: Closing the Insight-to-Action Gap report.
Closing this gap is important because if marketing organizations are unable to action insights, they will struggle to become the powerful drivers of business growth they can and should be. The path forward requires honesty and courage in the following three areas.
1. Be clear-eyed about what you’re measuring and why
Marketing measurement transforms data into actionable insights. But too often, measurement is done for the sake of it: ‘because we should,’ ‘because we always have,’ or simply to be ‘accountable.’ This is a problem because when you don’t know why you are measuring, or what specific decision an insight should help with, even the most insightful analysis becomes optional.
This is where many organizations are quietly failing. It’s not the quality of their data or analytics, but a lack of clear purpose. So, my advice is simple; before generating any insight, ask and get answers to some seemingly simple questions:
- What decision does this inform?
- Who will act on it?
- When does that decision need to be made?
Without those answers, insights are just a well-presented report.
2. Get out of your comfort zone
It’s human nature to take the path of least resistance and marketers are no different to anyone else. When it comes to insights, many find it much easier and safer to present a report that focuses on answering ‘what happened?’ It’s factual, defensible, and doesn’t ask much from anyone. This is often preferred over presenting an insight that might challenge how things are done, question past decisions, or require uncomfortable changes.
But marketers must find the confidence to make this transition. One way to do this is to arm yourself with stronger, more contextualized insights. As well as answering ‘what happened?’, you should also be able to answer ‘why did this happen?’ and ‘what might happen next?’. Here are two quick examples to show what I mean:
- If analysis reveals your brand awareness increased by 5 points in the last quarter while consideration declined 2 points, make sure you know why. For example, was it due to a specific campaign, competitor activity or a shift in consumer sentiment affecting certain groups of people?
- Given the unpredictable business world we live in, it’s never been more important to model different future scenarios. For example, what would happen to demand if inflation rose, supply chains broke down, or media costs started to spiral?
Recommendation in action: We worked with a global retailer to analyze a TV spot’s underperformance in-flight. Thanks to granular, near-time measurement, we were able to diagnose that a combination of high cost, lack of cut-through from low frequency, and poor creative alignment was to blame. Acting on this ‘why did it happen?’ insight, the retailer reallocated budget to a higher-performing digital channel that resulted in a 2x increase in marketing ROI.
3. Secure leadership buy-in and cross-functional alignment
Just 20% of respondents to the Gain Theory survey agreed that the actioning of insights was “mandated from the top with clear accountability”. Overcoming this barrier is a hallmark of organizations that have successfully closed the gap between insights and action.
The most effective leaders don’t just talk about data and insights, they actively use them and ensure other teams act on what’s been learnt. More widely, there’s a culture of collective problem-solving and insights are built into everyday tasks and planning.
Marketers can’t wait for this culture to develop organically; they should do the following three things to help to speed it up:
- Identify an executive sponsor who is most likely to champion marketing insights throughout the company and ensure they are a requirement rather than an optional extra. Typically, this person will be a senior leader who consistently uses insights in their own decision-making.
- Build trust by showing the value of marketing insights that have been actioned and the opportunity cost of insights that have not. Be sure to frame value in terms that leadership cares about (e.g. revenue growth, competitive advantage, resource optimization).
- Lead stakeholder workshops that bring together different functions (e.g. marketing, finance, sales) to discuss how to increase the number of actionable insights. These collaborative sessions should increase understanding of each other’s perspectives, overcome barriers, and co-create solutions.
Recommendation in action: We conducted workshops with the senior management of one company to demystify measurement methodologies and translate complex analytical insights into clear, actionable language. We also facilitated training sessions for diverse business units to foster greater collaboration and create more alignment. As a result of these efforts, all key business units now attend and engage in marketing measurement debrief sessions while the CEO pushes the entire organization to make decisions using marketing mix modelling insights.
How to close the insight-to-action gap
The three steps I’ve outlined will increase the chances of marketing insights being actioned, but they won’t guarantee overnight success. To ensure lasting change, brands should engage in a holistic marketing effectiveness transformation program that addresses human, cultural, and organizational barriers. That’s a big commitment, but one that brands can’t afford to avoid.
Download Unfinished Business: Closing the Insight-too-Action Gap.