Data vs creativity: Which should guide your marketing?

I could make this the shortest blog ever and just tell you both, but that probably wouldn’t be very satisfying for either one of us.

Data analytics and business intelligence are increasingly important to the success of today’s modern credit union. In fact, coincidentally this week the CULytics third annual Credit Union Analytics Summit is taking place at Microsoft headquarters in Washington. It’s such an important topic, some 300 credit union people are willing to carve out a couple of days to talk about it with experts.

Why is data so important to marketing? For starters, effective use of data means you can target your marketing with laser accuracy. Gone are the “spray and pray” days when every member got the same flyer in their statement. Data allows you to deliver the exactly right message to the exactly right members. Every time.

So get a handle on your data and you have a handle on your marketing, right? Not exactly.

Data is more like a hammer. I challenge you to visit any Home Depot, Lowe’s, Dixieline, Ace Hardware, 84 Lumber or even Amazon for that matter, and find a hammer that comes with instructions. You won’t find one.

Your credit union’s data doesn’t come with instructions either. Like a hammer, it’s just a simple tool. And like a hammer, you can use your data to create some amazing things – limited only by your own creativity.

Ah, creativity.

That’s right. The data may tell you who’s ripe for what product. But only by applying human creativity will you be able to develop unique and compelling ways to reach those members with those products.

When you have your data team working hand in hand with your creative team to form one marketing super team, you’ll have the foundation for a real, solid, effective, powerhouse marketing strategy.

To make it easy, I’ll reduce all this to a simple equation: data + creativity = marketing strategy

Simple enough?

John San Filippo

John San Filippo

John is the co-founder of OmniChannel Communications, Inc., a company that specializes in B2B marketing to community financial institutions. He started out in the savings and loan industry, but wisely ... Web: www.omnichannelcommunications.com Details