5 Jan 2012:

Martin Doyle DQ Global

As we move into 2012, businesses that capitalise on their data, create single customers views and master their enterprise data will have a distinct advantage over their competition.  They will survive and thrive, whilst those who don’t will be at a severe disadvantage and could become extinct.

Capital budgets will continue to be squeezed. On-Demand business applications and services will become the norm. There will be a growth in Cloud based provision of Data as a Service (DaaS), offering pay as you go methods for record matching, validation, enhancement and suppression etc. all of which will come from the expenditure budget.

Big data will herald big data quality problems. The sheer volume of data being created by businesses cannot be interpreted and analysed using traditional methods. As such, new ways of processing, understanding and using data will be required.

2012 will be an exciting year for DQ Global as we release our affordable, scalable and paradigm shifting DQ 360 Platform. We look forward to helping our clients succeed in achieving their New Year’s resolutions for Data Quality improvement; removing avoidable data waste and helping them prosper through trusted data assets, which are fit for use in database marketing.

Jason Lark Celerity

For 2012 Celerity will continue to help its clients deliver more profit with less cost by using and integrating proven technology that allows us to deliver the highest level of real-time decision making and marketing deployment across all channels.

Data volumes are continuing to grow, doubling year on year. With the emergence of what they are calling “Big Data” we will be continuing to help our clients understand the value this data holds and how best to monetize the intelligence that we uncover.

We will be continuing to integrate leading technologies, including the integration of real-time analytical modeling, allowing the best possible decisions to be made.  This allows us to maximise our understanding of how and when we should be using certain channels and how they can work seamlessly together to deliver the best possible ROI.

Over the coming 2-3 years we will see the explosion of what is currently a minor tremor – Cloud based technologies. These technologies will change and redefine the way we work, the way we use technology and the way technology interacts with technology. How, which ones and when to adopt these technologies is something we will all need to discover whether a client, partner or consumer.

Simon Davis Atrium

KEY INDUSTRY CHALLENGES FOR 2012:

There’s no denying that the global economy is tainting all business planning and companies are hoarding cash.

The microscope is on high-cost departments like IT and Marketing. We are already seeing high cost, low productivity systems being replaced by our more focused solution.

So we believe that hosted applications (like our own MarketDeveloper) which don’t have large initial set up costs will not be impacted.

WHERE IS THE INDUSTRY HEADING?:

Many suppliers are showing signs of stress and we expect smaller or weaker ones to disappear by going out of business or by being “consolidated.” Such “distressed” sellers will struggle to get any real cash - earn-outs only will be the order of the day.

The Cloud is an obvious area of growth if the industry can quell fears of data loss, privacy and security. In MarketDeveloper’s case, the fact that it’s hosted exclusively in the UK puts it in a very strong position, compared to the, largely, US competitors.

OUR BUSINESS PLANS:

Our new version, v5, was soft-launched on Nov 1 to be publicly launched on Jan 1 2012. We almost doubled our turnover in our last year and are on track to do the same this year even before the launch has taken place.

Simon Weinstein All About Response

With 2011 having drawn to a close, the economic outlook for the year ahead is bleak. A UK recession, whilst not inevitable appears likely, and the threat of stagflation - where demand drops but inflation remains high - an increasing concern.

As consumer demand flat-lines or worse, the impact upon database marketing strategies will be to place a greater emphasis on customer retention, particularly where budgets are limited. However, the wise money will be on a thorough analysis of the data, allowing the findings to dictate fund allocation.

And the likely results?  A more integrated, multi-channel approach. Driven in part by technological advances and improvements in the available software, companies will be empowered to develop more relevant and personalised communications. In tandem, there will be an increased emphasis on providing engaging content, whilst the rule book will be torn up as creative execution increasingly defies convention as it strives to stand out from the crowd.

This doctrine of quality over quantity is one that All About Response fully subscribes to. Our goal for 2012 is to continue to invest in our data gathering operations, enabling us to offer our clients the most accurate, relevant and responsive consumer data and leads available.

Steven Day UK Changes

2012: the year UKChanges>online becomes our customers’ data management hub; allowing them to load data, run campaigns and build the SCV through a quick and intuitive cloud-based interface.

More customers will realise the value of standardising, cleansing, enhancing, analysing, segmenting and managing data within a single, secure environment. Others will look to improve in-house capabilities by integrating data validation and enhancement services into their CRM infrastructure.

Hopefully marketers will return to building relationships - making customers feel special, nurturing relationships and sending timely relevant messages through different channels instead of  ‘offers’ via the cheapest medium.

Mike Fox  UK Changes

Increased commercial pressure to deliver results in a competitive marketplace means clients must know their customers. Effective analytics is vital: however, clients with disparate data silos and no SCV (surprisingly commonplace!) will first need to create one, even temporarily, so that they can reap the rewards from this essential exercise.  The need for more precision in marketing communications, extracting useful information from customer data via analytics and the burgeoning data volumes heralded by Big Data mean that data quality has never been more important.  Accurate, relevant, current data will improve service and help build profitable relationships.

Antony Begley Database Marketing magazine

2011 has been a year of change and adaptation at Database Marketing magazine, a year of working twice as hard just to stand still – just as it has been for many of our readers, I suspect.

We’ve tried hard to keep up with the evolving market and launched a number of new products to capitalise on our position as the industry’s longest standing and now only monthly title.

The launch of our new website – found at www.dmarket.co.uk – has been a huge success for us, as was the launch this year of the inaugural Database Marketing Awards in September at The Brewery in London. We were delighted to see the event so well supported by so many of the leading lights of this sector and it has emboldened us to commit to doing the whole thing all over again next year.

And speaking of next year...it looks set to be more of the same. The ‘double dip’ recession is in the post and we’re looking at continued belt tightening and ever more demanding clients, quite rightly seeking to achieve as much bang for their marketing buck as they can possibly score. And who can blame them?

So next year is going to require a continuation of the good old nose to the grindstone approach, broken only by the odd look up to make sure the ship is still sailing in the right strategic direction. But, just like all of you, we’ve done it before and we’ll do it again. And all the while we’re amassing inconceivably valuable experience that will come in extremely handy when the good times return. Learning how to run lean, how to squeeze assets and how to work smarter not harder will be key lesson