With just 52 percent of B2B decisions made using data, it’s clear that business marketers need to create better systems for reviewing and responding to the numbers. This guide lays out some tips for building those systems.

1. Four Ways for
B2B Marketers
to Make Better
Use of Data

2. C
onsidering how widely
lauded analytics are
throughout the business
world, this may come as a shock:
A 2018 report from Forrester
found that only 52 percent of B2B
marketing decisions are driven by
data. With customer expectations
rising and data’s ability to provide
a better experience for those
customers, this number is simply
unacceptable. Marketers, and
business marketers especially, have
to do better at leveraging the wealth
of information available to them.
52%
FORRESTER
REPORT

3. To that end, the following guide will provide
some wisdom on how B2B marketers
can sort through and synthesize the
wealth of information available
to them. If you know your
business has valuable
data but have struggled
to organize it,
read on!

4. Identify the Data Points
that Matter to You
1

5. While having all the data in the world can make a powerful
difference for marketers, it can also sow confusion and
inaction. Rows and rows of numbers can have a paralyzing
effect on decision makers. So make it easy for them. Determine
what the key performance indicators are for your business –
whether that be leads, brand awareness, or something else
– and zero in on them. It will provide a roadmap for your team
to know how they should be reading and responding to the
walls of numbers often thrown their way.
5© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. 2
Hire
a Data
Person

7. Data has become so pervasive and important in marketing
that now it would behoove marketing teams to rely on a
single person to manage all of the data sets and generate
custom reports. This would take a lot of the analysis burden
off the rest of your team and allow them to focus on their
roles while being guided by the insights provided from your
head of data. You’re investing in technology to manage all
of your data. It’s important to have the right person to
manage all of those tools, too.
7© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Rely
on AI
3

9. As mentioned before, the amount of data marketers are
exposed to can be absolutely daunting. In some cases, it is
impossible to sort through all of it. This is where the power
of artificial intelligence and machine learning can come in.
Invest in a data platform that leverages AI to help sort through
all of the lines of data to provide overviews and more in-depth
insights. Your AI can even “report” directly to your data person,
creating a powerful human-and-machine data team.
9© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Create an
Annual Data
Clean-Up
Week
4

11. Today’s data is tomorrow’s bad information. The rate at which
data is outdated will only rise as more detailed information
about consumers becomes available. It’s imperative for every
business to designate a period, whether it be weekly, monthly,
or yearly, to review all of the data available to the company
and update where possible. If your data is inaccurate, it is
useless. Taking time to ensure correct information is well
worth the investment for any company.
11© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Marketing Data Management Plan How-To Guide
The Ultimate Data Machine
Fundamentals of Data
2018 Statistical Fact Book: The Ultimate Source
for Data-Driven Marketing Insight
Want more insight into how you can better manage
your data? Our Marketing Knowledge Center
has a wealth of reading material for that: