There are four key components for successful data-driven marketing, some of which are obvious, some perhaps less so.

The components are:

• Philosophy
• Processes
• Data
• Technology

Philosophy
This is the most important component. To be successful at data-driven marketing, an organization must have the right culture and philosophy.

At its heart, data-driven marketing is about continuous optimization and iterative improvement. It's the deployment of a test, learn, and adjust philosophy. Yet you can have the best data and technology in the world, but if there's no the desire to act and to change, then the data and technology only provide interest as opposed to insight. Organizations must have a desire to act.

Processes
If "philosophy" is about the desire to act, then "processes" is about the ability to act. More specifically, it's about the ability to execute, then to react. These processes involve the management of the technologies, and also management of the decision making.

Processes include building "measurement" into the marketing development process, for example, so there's no question that new campaign won't be tracked properly or new content on the Web site won't be tagged. It also involves ensuring a feedback mechanism is in place so trends can be identified and changes can be made in appropriate timescales.

Data
Data is, of course, a vital ingredient in the mix, but the organizational culture and processes provide the recipe for success (or failure). Good quality data is important. Attention must be paid to getting the numbers right. People are reluctant to make decisions if they don't have faith in the data.

Data-driven marketing also requires integrated data rather than data residing in silos. Within organizations different types of data often sit in databases, and different functions may have ownership of different types of data. For data-driven marketing activities to be effective, different data sources must relate to one another.

Technology
Finally, technology is the enabling component. Technology allows you to execute and react, either over the duration of a planning cycle or in real time. I don't think technology can make up for deficiencies in the philosophy and processes, though if you have the right approach and procedures you can make progress even if your technology isn't the most effective.

Good technology enables you to cycle through processes faster, even to the point where real-time optimization is possible. Like the data, the technologies should be integrated and allow the loop between insight and action to be closed.

So the core ingredient of data-driven marketing is high-quality integrated data. Technologies are tools. It's the right combination of organizational philosophy and strong processes that provide the foundation for success.