Indian marketers to increase dependence on consumer data: EY Study

Some 82% of Indian brands who participated in a study said they saw benefits in leveraging consumer data for marketing, but had trouble analysing touch points to optimise these benefits.

Also, 58% of marketers agreed they had gaps in consumer data and thereby faced difficulties in data-driven decision making, said a study titled ‘Leveraging consumer data for marketing’ put out by EY and MMA, a trade association that represents over 800 marketeers and ecosystem players.

The study conducted among 150 marketers across sectors, ranging from retail, finance, automobile, media to healthcare, education, technology, also found that 71% of Indian organisations used a blend of first party (1P) and third party (3P) data for marketing and most marketers were increasing efforts to build 1P data.

Some 58% of Indian marketers had defined ownership and management strategies for 1P consumer data. However, 60% had little integration of 1P and 3P data with limited employee access to organisational data resources. Only 24% of respondents had cross-fishing rules defined for sharing of consumer data between brands.

As per the survey, some 72% of respondents have built martech capabilities or were working towards that goal. Some 35% said they had adequate access to advanced analytics and data science resources.

Ashish Pherwani, Partner and Media & Entertainment Leader, EY India said, “It is a critical time for companies to prioritise data maturity, assess where they stand and work towards maximising the value of their data.”

The research revealed that although most companies have made significant progress in compliance, they struggled to break down internal silos, activate data and build the right skillsets to drive ROI on their data investments, he observed.

“Through this initiative, we reveal the state of consumer data usage in the country, as well as preparedness in terms of data capabilities and governance,” said Moneka Khurana, Country Head – India, MMA.