Over the past decade, marketing has undergone a paradigm shift. Gone are the days when marketing professionals worked off assumptions or gut feelings. Today, marketers turn to Customer data, the most reliable source of information. However, with big data becoming bulk data, marketing professionals have their challenges cut out. Having a large number of data sources at your disposal makes pulling the relevant data together an arduous challenge. Investing in an in-house data team would be an excellent place to start.

However, Chief Marketing Officers need to understand that data is not just about numbers. Those numbers have got the real people and their feedback and expressions behind them. Trusting the data is a challenge that organizations must overcome to succeed in the digital era. CMOs plant, cultivate, and firmly root the philosophy of bringing data to the center of marketing decision-making. There will be instances wherein you cannot be 100 percent objective, which is all right. The important aspect is having a general philosophy around objectivity and understanding. They will have to tread unchartered territories, working more collaboratively with technology departments. While working closely with technology & UI/UX teams, marketing heads must focus heavily on external marketing dynamics, customer needs, and general buyer behavior while ensuring technology interventions wherever possible. This special issue is an endeavor to tell you some of the unique stories from the marketing industry that will kindle your inspiration nerves. Let’s get in.
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