The Three C’s – Complexity, Conflict, and Cost – present significant challenges for marketers when making investment decisions that yield results. The costs associated with analyzing data and modeling scenarios emphasize the need for focused and judicious analytical efforts. Complexity and Conflict, on the other hand, drive managers and analysts to tirelessly seek certainty, fearing the consequences of making the wrong decision. Unfortunately, this pursuit of certainty can lead to excessive spending on data analysis and model optimization in the attempt to find the perfect solution.
These hurdles demand that marketers devise strategies that are analytically sound, aligned with the organization’s goals, and financially prudent. However, the complexity, conflict, and cost often result in missed project timelines and endless iterations. What exacerbates the issue is the ambiguity present in the upfront data analysis and collection phase, as well as questions that may arise only after the first model iteration is completed.
The third hurdle, Cost, which we will discuss more in depth in this blog, refers to the financial implications of marketing investment decisions. Managers and analysts can spend significant amounts of resources analyzing data and trying to find the right model to make informed decisions. This can become a costly exercise that may not always guarantee the desired outcomes.
Navigating marketing investment challenges
There are several cost factors to be considered to make an effective marketing investment decision. Some of which include the resources required for acquiring and managing relevant data, implementing effective knowledge management processes, and ensuring efficient access and retrieval of information. Some additional costly considerations include conducting comprehensive modeling and analysis, identifying and evaluating potential opportunities, and maintaining secure storage and retention systems. These activities involve substantial investments in terms of time, human resources, technology, and infrastructure, ultimately adding to the overall cost of making informed marketing investment decisions.
Cost Factors
Let’s review each of these factors a bit further to understand why these costly expenditures can make marketing investment decisions difficult.
- Data acquisition requires substantial financial resources to gather relevant data, limiting the ability to collect comprehensive and accurate information for decision-making purposes.
- The cost of knowledge management involves investing in systems, technology, and resources to organize, analyze, and leverage valuable information, making it accessible and usable for decision-making.
- Access and retrieval requires investment in technology and systems to efficiently and accurately retrieve the necessary data and information for informed decision-making.
- Modeling and analysis involves significant investments in resources, technology, and expertise to develop and implement accurate models that inform decision-making with actionable insights.
- Opportunity identification is difficult due to the resources required to conduct comprehensive market research, analyze trends, assess competitive landscapes, and identify potential opportunities for maximizing marketing investments.
- Storage and retention requires investments in infrastructure, technology, and compliance to ensure secure and accessible data storage, as well as long-term retention for future analysis and decision-making purposes.
| The Keen Platform addresses “Cost” pain points | |
| Pain Point | Where in the platform Keen can help |
| Data acquisition | Marketing Elasticity Engine, Connectors, Data Proc |
| Knowledge management | System |
| Access and retrieval | System |
| Modeling and analysis | Model, Plans, Reporting |
| Opportunity identification | Plans |
| Storage and retention | System |
Revolutionizing marketing decisions with the Keen Platform
By providing clarity amidst the complexity, conflict, and cost, Keen revolutionizes the way marketing investment decisions are made. Our platform harnesses the power of a Bayesian approach and machine learning to anchor our models within a well-defined framework. This approach transcends the pitfalls that plague less informed strategies and transforms the model into a compass, guiding marketers towards better and more impactful decisions. Ultimately, this ensures that every marketing dollar becomes an investment towards a more profitable and insightful future.
To learn more about the Three C’s and how unified marketing measurement holds the promise of providing a structured approach to tackle these challenges and help you make the best marketing investment decisions possible, go to the “Guide to Decision Making With Unified Marketing Measurement” blog.
