How Can CMOs Adapt Marketing Measurement for Generative AI Consumer Journeys?

Why Do Siloed Analytics Fail to Capture Modern Customer Touchpoints?

Learn the four-part agenda for CMOs to improve data-driven decision-making from Boston Consulting Group. Discover how to break down silos between marketing and finance, navigate privacy regulations, and model complex customer journeys in the age of AI.

Read the complete strategy breakdown to learn how to build a commercial-effectiveness culture that integrates sales, finance, and marketing data for superior ROI.

Recommendation

CMOs must transform their marketing function and expand their modeling capabilities if they hope to connect with consumers across touchpoints. Boston Consulting Group research outlines a four-part agenda CMOs should take to improve data-driven decision-making. Learn how CMOs are responding to challenges — such as increasingly complex customer journeys due to the growing ubiquity of generative AI — and the steps industry leaders are taking to thrive within dynamic markets.

Take-Aways

• CMOs must adapt measurement approaches to connect with consumers across multiple touchpoints.
• Follow the lead of Pernod Ricard, a company that’s improved data-driven decision-making at scale.
• Embrace a four-part agenda to remain competitive and foster continuous improvement.

Summary

CMOs must adapt measurement approaches to connect with consumers across multiple touchpoints.

Connecting with customers is becoming more difficult, as CMOs must navigate the following three challenges:

1. Multiplying touchpoints — Generative AI is producing more touchpoints for companies to measure, as it creates more complex customer journeys.
2. Shifting consumer behaviors — CMOs and CFOs must collaborate to identify data-supported opportunities to drive growth in unsettled economies through commercial spending investments. This requires clarity on how factors such as geopolitics and inflation impact consumer demand.
3. Stricter privacy regulations — US states are adopting new privacy laws, following the European Union’s introduction of its General Data Protection Regulation, requiring companies to adopt data collection and measurement approaches that align with shifting norms regarding personal data.

“Data that’s hard to get or integrate leaves models with blind spots across brands, touchpoints, and sales channels.”

Boston Consulting Group research found that the vast majority — 70% — of companies employ, or are planning to employ, marketing measurement. However, only one in four are using outputs to allocate investments across all possible touchpoints, keeping marketing measurement siloed — this can make it difficult for CMOs to engage with sales and finance leaders, as their data is difficult to access and integrate due to coverage gaps and “black box analytics.” More than 70% of European and US-based CMOs reported that more complete and comprehensive data coverage would widen model adoption use, while 80% said simulations would widen adoption. About two-thirds of companies are considering shifting from reliance on external vendors and moving modeling work in-house to build trust throughout the organization and improve modeling — but that’s only the first step for CMOs hoping to improve measurement strategies.

Follow the lead of Pernod Ricard, a company that’s improved data-driven decision-making at scale.

Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-biggest wine and spirit company, created Matrix, their own internal modeling system, in 2020 to help them make better marketing decisions for 10 brands across 22 markets. You can follow their lead by taking these action steps:

1. Build your team — Pernod Ricard created a new team tasked with keeping Matrix running, composed of measurement experts, data engineers, and data scientists.
2. Develop scenario simulations — Provide actionable spending recommendations by developing tools that test different spending scenarios, factoring in both the short and long-term financial impact on consumers.
3. Coordinate efforts — Set up cross-functional processes to integrate and align marketing and sales efforts.
4. Support local teams — Form a central team to guide local marketing teams’ in adopting effective success measurements and make better spending investments. Executive leadership championed Pernod Ricard’s transition as they adopted Matrix.

Embrace a four-part agenda to remain competitive and foster continuous improvement.

Generate better measurements, transforming data-driven insights into action in the following four steps:

1. Go after more holistic and actionable datasets — You’ll need to access new datasets and partner with new providers (for example, retail distribution networks) to improve analytics. Build trusted partnerships by embracing data transparency.
2. Improve strategic decision-making — Connect marketing and nonmarketing analytics in a single decision platform that has the capacity to simulate both the short-term sales gains produced by spending mixes and longer-term insights into the impact of brand investments.
3. De-silo marketing, finance, and sales — Incentivize C-suite leaders across departments to make decisions collaboratively using data insights from marketing, finance, and sales.
4. Build a “commercial-effectiveness culture” — Create a feedback loop that connects decisions with their outcomes, creating a culture of continuous improvement, in which teams learn from past decisions and apply insights into future action plans.

About the Authors

Jessica Apotheker, David Galley, Leila Hamidou, Ray Yu, Shelby Senzer, Jeff Walters, and Karolis Baltagalvis are professionals at Boston Consulting Group.