Implementing big data for strategic marketing decisions : understanding the social consumer’s behaviour

Abstract

This research investigates how companies implement big data to understand their social consumer’s behaviour and leverage these insights to take strategic decisions. The academic literature showed that big data can be a very powerful asset for marketers. However, academic articles about this topic are not numerous, mostly focus on just one aspect of big data and are quite old. Thus, there is a gap existing between theory and real-life practices. This research aims to bridge this gap via a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with data and marketing professionals from different industries, marketing positions and company-sizes. The findings from both sources were cross-analysed and highlight that big data is perceived as essential for marketers with large companies using it as the foundation of their marketing strategies, while SMEs use it in a more ad hoc manner. But big data also comes with requirements like having a data maturity level assessment, investing in powerful software and hiring skilled professionals. Some similar challenges were also identified like the need for data centralization and the importance of data reliability. But real-life practices showed some aspects that are yet to be explored by academics like the time-consuming aspect of big data, the adoption barriers which are now limited compared to 10 years ago, or the lack of GDPR issues recognition. Finally, the results highlighted a data quantity paradox faced by marketers. Overall, this research offers a comprehensive understanding of big data implementation, identifying it gains and costs via actionable final recommendations for marketers and highlighting needs for future research for academics.