Let’s Talk Data

What’s the deal with “data”?

“So you work in marketing?” “I do.”. “Great! I have an idea for a new product that does {fill in dream-product description here}. Can you help me write a marketing plan?”

“Uh, not really,” I reply.

And then I explain that I work in a very specialized field called “Target Marketing”. While some of the work we do can be used in business plans, we don’t write plans for people. We help businesses figure out who their best customers are and how to find more like them using lots of different data.

“How do you do that?” they question.

“Whatever our clients have, such as … customer databases, transactional data, sales territory assignments, boundary files, mailing lists, primary research, syndicated data”….

And this puzzled look comes over their faces, “Huh? So you must be a computer programmer, right?” they question.

“No…” I reply. “Just a person who analyzes available information to paint a portrait of customers and prospects so that messages get to the intended audience with the right appeal.”

To get a feel for the industry and many of the different intersections of data, modeling, and GIS, subscribe to Directions Magazine , Target Marketing , The Direct Marketing Association, or attend the National Center for Database Marketing Conference (NCDM) Lots of good stuff at the Census, too.