The Big Data-Driven Business

The Big Data-Driven Business: How to Use Big Data to Win Customers, Beat Competitors, and Boost Profits makes the case that big data is for real, and more than just big hype. The book uses real-life examples—from Nate Silver to Copernicus, and Apple to Blackberry—to demonstrate how the winners of the future will use big data to seek the truth. Written by a marketing journalist and the CEO of a multi-million-dollar B2B marketing platform that reaches more than 90% of the U.S. business population, this book is a comprehensive and accessible guide on how to win customers, beat competitors, and boost the bottom line with big data.

The marketplace has entered an era where the customer holds all the cards. With unprecedented choice in both the consumer world and the B2B world, it's imperative that businesses gain a greater understanding of their customers and prospects. Big data is the key to this insight, because it provides a comprehensive view of a company's customers—who they are, and who they may be tomorrow. The Big Data-Driven Business is a complete guide to the future of business as seen through the lens of big data, with expert advice on real-world applications.

• Learn what big data is, and how it will transform the enterprise
• Explore why major corporations are betting their companies on marketing technology
• Read case studies of big data winners and losers
• Discover how to change privacy and security, and remodel marketing

Better information allows for better decisions, better targeting, and better reach. Big data has become an indispensable tool for the most effective marketers in the business, and it's becoming less of a competitive advantage and more like an industry standard. Remaining relevant as the marketplace evolves requires a full understanding and application of big data, and The Big Data-Driven Business provides the practical guidance businesses need.

Russell Glass is the Head of B2B Marketing Products for LinkedIn. A seasoned technology entrepreneur, Russ founded and then served as president and CEO of Bizo, a B2B audience marketing and data platform, which was acquired for $175 million by LinkedIn in 2014.

During his tenure at Bizo, he grew the company to a $50 million plus revenue run-rate and to more than 150 employees before it was acquired. At LinkedIn, he injects his deep knowledge about the B2B marketing ecosystem to help build the next generation of content-based marketing products for the company.

Russ has also founded or held senior positions at four venture-backed technology companies. He is a big believer that great cultures equal great companies, and has integrated this philosophy into all of his roles.

He's passionate about family, Duke basketball, golf and just about anything in HD.

Sean Callahan is the senior manager-content marketing at LinkedIn. Formerly, he was a marketing director at Bizo and an editor and reporter at Crain Communications. His freelance journalism has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Notre Dame Magazine, Salon.com, and SI.com.

Introduction: Why We Wrote This Book, and How It Can Help You ix

1 Big Data, Big Benefits 1

2 The Evolution of the Customer-Focused, Data-Driven Business 15

3 The Evolution of the Buyer’s Journey, or How the Internet Killed the Three-Martini Lunch 25

4 The Marketing Stack—Why CMOs and CIOs Are Working Together 35

The Software in the Stack 48

5 How Technology Bridges the Gap between Marketing and Sales 55

Technology Brings Harmony between Sales and Marketing at DocuSign 62

How Bizo Used Data to Boost Marketing–Sales Alignment 64

6 Data and the Rise of Online Advertising 69

Early Uses of Audience Data 72

Early Marketing Analytics—Audience Auditing 73

The Rise of Internet Advertising 74

Ad Networks 75

Audience Platforms 75

Online Advertising Exchanges 76

Retargeted Display Ads 77

Social Media Advertising’s Powerful Leap Forward 78

How Marketers Are Putting Data on Display 79

7 Using Data to Better Understand Customers and Pursue Prospects 85

Netflix Flexes Its Data Muscle 88

SaaS and Its Powerful Window on the Customer 90

The Power of Predictive Lead Modeling 91

Data Isn’t Reserved for Dot-Coms 93

8 The Arrival of Left-Brained Leaders and the Rise of the Marketing Department 97

9 Implementing a Big Data Plan (Sometimes by Thinking Small) 113

Eleven Principles to Follow When Bringing Big Data into Your Business 123

10 Measurement, Testing, and Attribution 133

Data and Measurement 136

Measuring the Power of Display Ads 138

Data and Testing 138

Data and Attribution 140

Attribution’s Big Day 144

11 Data Can Be a Matter of Corporate Life and Death 149

The Dead 155

Near-Death Experience 161

Culture Clash 162

Missed Opportunity 165

Whistling Past the Graveyard? 166

Schadenfreude? 167

12 Using Data Responsibly 169

Privacy and Online Advertising 173

Privacy and the Corporate Database 176

The Responsibility of Corporations 179

13 Big Data’s Big Future 183

How Cleversafe Harnessed the Power of Data 187

Key Trends Defining Big Data’s Future 188

The Human Touch Remains Essential 206

Index 209

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