In 2021, the MMA collaborated with EY to survey the data maturity landscape in marketing. We surveyed over 100 senior marketing leaders in the U.S. across major industries and we uncovered significant gaps in both the processes and skills needed to effectively gather, analyze, and execute against consumer data in marketing.
In early 2023, we repeated the study to see what had changed as we were moving into an era where data was becoming even more critical to marketers looking to take advantage of new AI-powered tools. We found that the data maturity landscape has shown limited progress in most areas. Marketers continue to struggle with access to rich 1st party consumer data, tools to improve data quality and adequate data science resources to meet the growing business needs. These limitations, combined with rigid organizational silos, continue to prevent companies from fully unlocking the data value.
Amidst these challenges, a segment of industry leaders has emerged as pioneers in data maturity. These Data Leaders exhibit a clear vision and tight alignment between their data strategies and business objectives, setting them apart from the general market. They are adept at prioritizing long-term growth by focusing on brand health and customer lifetime value, while being efficient at short-term execution through sophisticated use of data for applications such as identifying high-value audiences and unlocking new business models. Data Leaders have achieved this by leapfrogging their capabilities, such as analytics, customer journey orchestration, identity management, and customer data platforms.
By emulating the practices of Data Leaders, organizations can navigate the data landscape effectively, establish a solid foundation for sustainable growth, and unlock the transformative power of data. We extend our gratitude to the participating companies for their invaluable insights, enabling us to shed light on the path to data maturity excellence. This report serves as a compass for organizations seeking to embrace data-driven decision making and thrive in the evolving data landscape.
