Getty ImagesIn the past, marketing was all about hunch, either based on experiences, discussions or gut feelings. With the lack of any real-time data analysis, marketing budgets were parked basis third-party research findings that would not hold relevance by the time of executing the strategy. As such, measuring the level of success for a campaign would disappear in the abyss like most of its marketing spend.
Today, data and technology are governing marketing strategies and spends. With terabytes of user and marketing information and availability of the right tools and knowledge to interpret them, the only question that remains is who is the first (marketer) to realize its potential. Amongst the number of emerging technology fields that are guiding marketers today, Data Sciences and Text Mining of unstructured data rule the charts.
Data Sciences
A combination of statistics, technology, and business strategy, Data Sciences help turning marketing strategies predictive than prescriptive. It empowers a marketer to transform marketing from being a cost centre to become a profit centre, and exclusively focus on improving the brand’s marketing effectiveness. No wonder, data scientist jobs have sprung up overnight globally and for a good reason.
Text Mining the Unstructured Data
Remember the era of relational database or RDMBS when storing user information was limited to a rigid structured format including age and contact basics? But thanks to the explosion of social media 2.0 and our growing dependence on digital for work, transactions, entertainment, and socializing, users have been creating and voluntarily contributing so much of unstructured data in the form of text and e-messaging, apps, music, videos, and social media content. The amount of insights waiting to be explored and exploited is unfathomable. This is where Text Mining will explode specifically helping the content marketing efforts.
While basic tracking systems only find out what a user is searching for, and not the intent behind the search, Text Mining provides information about users that a typical digital report will not. It mines for textual information of customer interaction with product information across platforms, and tells ‘why’ he has selected or purchased a product rather than ‘what’ he has bought.
Voice based search is also gaining steam as AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP) helps generate insights faster and with precision. Imagine, instead of searching for information on Google Search manually, you activate its NLP-powered search function that uses Text Mining.
The system refines your needs by probing with more questions while searching the internet for all your text-based activities. It uses sentiment analysis, a part of Text Mining, to know all related contexts of your query to deliver accurate information. This being just one scenario, Text Mining can provide insights that can enable a marketer to design predictive models of successful campaigns in terms of right time, location, and messaging. The time is ripe for marketers to apply Data Sciences and Text Mining to marketing strategies ensuring Marketing ROI instead of simply following the gut.
(The writer is vice president – marketing, Havells India. Views expressed are personal.)
Today, data and technology are governing marketing strategies and spends. With terabytes of user and marketing information and availability of the right tools and knowledge to interpret them, the only question that remains is who is the first (marketer) to realize its potential. Amongst the number of emerging technology fields that are guiding marketers today, Data Sciences and Text Mining of unstructured data rule the charts.
Data Sciences
A combination of statistics, technology, and business strategy, Data Sciences help turning marketing strategies predictive than prescriptive. It empowers a marketer to transform marketing from being a cost centre to become a profit centre, and exclusively focus on improving the brand’s marketing effectiveness. No wonder, data scientist jobs have sprung up overnight globally and for a good reason.
Text Mining the Unstructured Data
Remember the era of relational database or RDMBS when storing user information was limited to a rigid structured format including age and contact basics? But thanks to the explosion of social media 2.0 and our growing dependence on digital for work, transactions, entertainment, and socializing, users have been creating and voluntarily contributing so much of unstructured data in the form of text and e-messaging, apps, music, videos, and social media content. The amount of insights waiting to be explored and exploited is unfathomable. This is where Text Mining will explode specifically helping the content marketing efforts.
While basic tracking systems only find out what a user is searching for, and not the intent behind the search, Text Mining provides information about users that a typical digital report will not. It mines for textual information of customer interaction with product information across platforms, and tells ‘why’ he has selected or purchased a product rather than ‘what’ he has bought.
Voice based search is also gaining steam as AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP) helps generate insights faster and with precision. Imagine, instead of searching for information on Google Search manually, you activate its NLP-powered search function that uses Text Mining.
The system refines your needs by probing with more questions while searching the internet for all your text-based activities. It uses sentiment analysis, a part of Text Mining, to know all related contexts of your query to deliver accurate information. This being just one scenario, Text Mining can provide insights that can enable a marketer to design predictive models of successful campaigns in terms of right time, location, and messaging. The time is ripe for marketers to apply Data Sciences and Text Mining to marketing strategies ensuring Marketing ROI instead of simply following the gut.
(The writer is vice president – marketing, Havells India. Views expressed are personal.)
