Harnessing future revenue growth in unfolding marketing eco system

As revenues are redistributed across the marketing eco system, the progress of media companies in leveraging customer data analytics - in order to develop deeper customer insight - will be the most important indicator of harnessing future revenue growth.

Deeper customer insight is vital to enable targeted, cross-platform - but platform specific - content offerings that will drive future revenue growth.

Last year, media companies have focused on improving efficiency (due to urgently needed cost cutting). In 2010, the next frontier opens up: mastering the process of analytical management of consumer and operational data, in order to achieve excellence in engaging and interacting with consumers.

The market leading media companies of tomorrow will be the ones that find innovative ways to harness their vast amounts of data to gain competitive advantages; companies that use statistical analysis to map patterns of consumer activity, rather than intuiting it from what they think customers are doing. These media companies conduct trend analysis by forecasting and extrapolating, based on varied assumptions, allowing them to anticipate needed business model, inventory, financing and capacity, so they can provide better, more relevant (mobile digital) services at lower costs.

Digital consumer understanding and analytics - using the data people generate to make smarter decisions, while adhering to concerns over privacy - grow in importance. Be ready to make the fullest possible use of consumer data to drive growth, or risk falling behind.

The marketing eco system needs to become more data driven. Every value constellation within the marketing eco system should be based on data and facts, while respecting consumer privacy, and should be considered a work-in-progress. Organize value constellations with relevant partners and iterate often, based on the data. The marketing eco system is in perpetual beta, and data is our constant companion.