The Age of Data – Bone or Bane?
In the last decade, we witnessed an explosion of data availability. Humankind creates more data each day than we did all together in the last 20,000 years. Despite all this data, it’s not its size, but what you do with it that matters. Marketers often start from the available data to brainstorm potential uses, instead of asking the right questions, and then dig deep in: how do we find the adequate answer, which type of data do we need, where do we get this data from and how do we access, process and combine this data with our existing insights? This leads to important issues such as “Which source is reliable?” or “Which data is richer in information?” Don’t stop once a data source confirms your preconceptions or indicates your strategy is working great – check alternative data sources to ensure your conclusions are valid. Our analysis of the 2016 US presidential illustrates what could happen if you don’t.