Cambridge, MA— March 10, 2008— Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) today announced the availability of its new industry whitepaper, “Marketing Analytics — Sinkhole or Strategic Advantage?” authored by Sapient Director of Business and IT Strategy David Bond. According to the whitepaper, while most marketers are investing in analytics, many are still struggling to achieve any real insight or value from the data. In the whitepaper, Sapient’s Bond identifies the six key obstacles that inhibit the effective use of analytics and introduces five guiding principles that executives should follow to leverage the full, inherent value of analytics.
“The quantity and complexity of marketing data has exploded in today’s world of direct and interactive marketing. The problem is that in our haste to roll up our sleeves, many have failed to ask the fundamental question – What should we measure? We end up with pages of numbers that have little connection to the strategic drivers of the organization,” said Bond. “This whitepaper is designed to serve as a guideline to avoid the all too common analytics sinkholes. It drills down
into some of the major issues people in the industry face today and provides best practices for getting strategic value from your analytics. ”
Sapient conducted interviews with marketing executives in industries ranging from consumer electronics and automotive to financial services and high technology to identify the most common obstacles to creating a successful marketing analytics strategy. Based on these interviews and additional research, Sapient found that one of the biggest obstacles is a general lack of agreement from senior executives on how marketing performance should be measured. The whitepaper also cites another obstacle that is common within the industry: the gap that exists between corporate goals and tactical analysis.
When it comes to the guiding principles to success, Sapient recommends that organizations get “on the same page” regarding the measurements that matter most to their businesses. Sapient also recommends that companies resist the initial urge to look at all numbers and instead adopt only a few measures that help achieve strategic advantage.
To download a copy of “Marketing Analytics — Sinkhole or Strategic Advantage?” please go to http://www.sapient.com/pdfs/analytics/marketinganalytics.pdf.
About Sapient
Sapient, a global services firm, operates two groups—Sapient Interactive and Sapient Consulting—that help clients compete, evolve and grow in an increasingly complex marketplace. Sapient Interactive provides brand and marketing strategy,award-winning creative work, web design and development and emerging media expertise. Sapient Consulting provides business and IT strategy, process and systems design, package implementation and custom development, as well as outsourcing services such as testing, maintenance and support.
Sapient’s passion for client success—evidenced by its ability to foster collaboration, drive innovation and solve challenging problems—is the subject of case studies on leadership and organizational behavior used by MBA students at both Harvard and Yale. Leading clients, including BP, Essent Energie, Harrah's Entertainment, Hilton International, Janus, Sony Electronics and Verizon, rely on the company’s unique approach to drive growth and market momentum. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sapient operates across North America, Europe and India. For more information, please visit www.sapient.com.
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Sapient is a registered service mark of Sapient Corporation.