Marketing has always combined data and inspiration: after all, there is no analytical approach that can indicate a specific direction on its own without the necessary review and internalization on the part of the professional and their know-how in analyzing information. Some time ago, when traditional advertising dominated the strategies developed, most managers in organizations could justifiably have increased confidence in making judgments about expenditures made and messages delivered.

Today, many confess privately that the degree of certainty has diminished. This trend is not surprising: many marketing strategies are based on traditional, almost unchanged schemes, while the latest evolution of marketing platforms means that they need to be updated on an almost daily basis. But it can be difficult to admit publicly that your judgment is incomplete or out of date. And given the resources required in this context, it becomes difficult to make a rational investment in additional marketing expenditure and - at the same time - admit that it is mostly based on a hunch about the market and the audience.

Marketing professionals seem to have internalized the realization that the answer to improving their judgment in this rapidly changing environment is to be able to collect and analyse data, and many companies are integrating sophisticated analytical tools into their strategies. However, it is difficult to integrate all this information in a way that not only provides answers that can be trusted, but also manages to intelligently shape marketing changes. The exercise can start by formulating hypotheses about the impact of changes in marketing mix and then look for the analytical evidence to support them.

Those who operate in this environment find excitement in the possibilities that Big Data and advanced analytics present. But data remains as useful as the experience that the professional working with it brings to bear, and proper judgment of it will remain a hallmark of the best marketing professionals.