Gathering behavioral data to gain insight into consumers’ habits and to help develop marketing campaigns has become firmly entrenched in the marketing industry. This trend will continue over the next three years, according to the “Getting Digital Right 2015” study from the market research firm Millward Brown.

However, there is still a significant gap between the information collected and how to apply that knowledge. According to the report, while more than 65 percent use behavioral research tools, fewer than 15 percent of the marketers queried thought they made effective use of the available data.

The report, a survey of more than 400 marketers from different agencies, brands, and media companies, also found that multiscreen marketing was a two-edged sword. Marketers agreed that developing and deploying an integrated strategy that coordinated linking consumers with a given message, screen, and time presented a both a significant opportunity and challenge. Almost two-thirds said they were using consumer behavior insights and audience measurement tools that provided the necessary information, but only half of those said they had developed an effective marketing media mix.

The study acknowledges that digital is now part of the marketing landscape and points out that incorporating a balance of social, mobile, and digital channels into any given strategy is no longer a question of “if,” but rather of “when and how.” As such, marketers utilizing behavioral research tools to gain insight into consumer interactions will be able to plan and execute an optimized, but flexible, media marketing mix with an ROI that can be tracked and measured.

Reference:

MarketingCharts. “Marketers Increasingly Relying on Behavioral Research to Influence Decisions”; July 2, 2015.

MillwardBrown Digital. “Getting Digital Right 2015”; July 2015.