Multichannel Data 
Integration: Drowning in Data?

Marketing Execution
Now that you have the infrastructure needed to support your data, it's game time.

Even with the best data collection strategies and infrastructure, it can all fall apart if your targeting and messaging is off track. In today's environment, it's now your responsibility as a marketer to listen to what consumers have told you and leverage that data to create the most relevant marketing message possible. This concept of consumer-centric marketing isn't new, but it's highly underused in retail.

Brands continue to use the one-size-fits-all marketing model, which won't yield growth results for long. So, what should you do? Here are three best practices:

1. Follow the data. Use all collected data to inform your messaging and offer.
2. Target consumers by their channel preference.
3. Test, test and then test some more.

So much has been said of the importance of the 360-degree view of consumers. With all the ways consumers can interact with your brand, this has never been more critical.

With so many new and exciting ways to capture and communicate with consumers, you now have the opportunity to truly establish that consumer-centric view you've always dreamed of.

David Geisinger is vice president of database marketing at Merkle. Reach David at dgeisinger@merkleinc.com. Bo Chipman is vice president, client team lead at Merkle. Reach Bo at bchipman@merkleinc.com.