Marketers fear drowning in digital data: WFA

Half of the respondents said the sheer number of data sources they have to monitor is a barrier to successful online measurement. They are also well aware that as new platforms, such as mobile, become more important, ithe number of data points will only increase.

The majority of marketers reported that they are currently tracking between five and 10 different digital KPIs. However, 24 per cent are monitoring 10 to 15 and 8 per cent are tracking 16 to 20.

WFA has presented some of the key findings in infographic form

Other findings:

• Seventy-two per cent said their current data load was about right, but 20 per cent said it was too heavy.
• More than half of marketers use the terms 'paid, owned and earned' to help them grasp how each type of media contributes to ROI and a further 12 per cent plan to adopt this classification scheme.
• Marketers consider dashboards providing real-time updates valuable, but some expressed concern about "death by dashboard", as some global organisations reported already having more than 10 dashboards to keep an eye on.
• The main barriers to successful online measurement are lack of dedicated resources (cited by 74 per cent of respondents), a shortage of knowledge among marketing teams (70 per cent) and specific gaps in online ROI expertise (57 per cent).
• Standardising KPIs across markets, linking KPIs to sales and creating aggregated dashboards for online metrics are the main priorities for marketers over the next 12 months.  
• A resounding majority of marketers agree that all KPIs must be driven by the brand’s overall marketing and business objectives, with 82 per cent citing brand strategy as the driver of their KPIs for digital platforms.

"Managing the data that these KPIs create is a challenge, but one that in most cases has to be tackled internally, and marketers need to resource this area," said Stephan Loerke, WFA managing director. "The challenge of managing and creating business opportunity from 'big data' has really only just started, and it will be critical to business success in the future."