Ticketmaster – the ticket sales and distribution company – has a central data team for its international (non-US) businesses, to try to smooth the process. CRM manager Lucy Hill said the tools and platforms used in different markets are generally linked, which means valuable knowledge is shared quickly between offices around the world.

The issue of siloed data has been a marketing industry conundrum for years. The problem is often highlighted when brands try to integrate legacy systems or purchase new platforms to meet specific needs, for example to improve their CRM strategy. In many cases, the promises made by the vendors to solve marketers’ problems do not match the reality.

“We bought a data management platform (DMP) three years ago and thought it would do everything,” said Lara Izlan, director of commercial platforms and operations at Auto Trader UK. “We soon discovered it could not and that we needed a portfolio approach using a DMP, Google Analytics and partnerships with suppliers such as Experian.”

Matt Stockbridge, growth analytics manager at Mondelēz International, says leaders within any business, as well as their external agencies can be too easily wowed by vendor claims about what technology can do regarding data. “But once installed the tech doesn’t always deliver locally, regionally or internationally what the marketing team needs,” he said.

The dilemma is that organisations need strong security and privacy controls in place, but as marketers we need data to do our job.
Philip Driver, Canon

Wherever data sits within an organisation any irritations around accessing it can be eased if marketers are clear about what they want.

Rupert Bedell, CMO at Unum UK and former head of marketing for business and commercial at Royal Bank of Scotland, said marketers must know what data they need, what they will do with it and when they need it by. “Thinking in these bite-size chunks can help to solve complex and cultural issues around data.”

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.marketingweek.com