Gulbahar Taurani on data and measurement and growth

Go where my producer presenting me with this topic the science of data driven marketing. It doesn't sound very exciting. I was worried we'd lose viewers. Make it exciting for us. Go. So I think as I said that I'm quite intrigued to be part of this show because I personally believe that you know when I was growing up it said you know marketing is all about science and art. OK. And data is making it more scientific. So we are losing on the art. So for me and you will you will see that I am a firm believer of you know we we used to say that you know I take decisions from my gut. Now what is gut. Gut is also accumulation of data which is coming from your life experiences what you have observed what you have been taught what you have been told.

So for me it is it is absolutely clear that data was always there. Data is now more available accessible and then you can make data to liberate yourself rather than you know slow you down. And that's the that's the watch out that I would I would like to share because you know the title says you know data science and I personally believe that data is here to liberate us not to slow us down. Well I think that's a great setup and as you say go data is both the kind of the oldest and the and the newest show the newest show in town. And a bit like life is kind of what you do with it. But good in in the same year and other brands you work with. What what do you do with data. How do you even define data. So I think as I said you know what is data.

Then why do you first of all why do you need data. Because at the end of the day if you are very clear about why then you know what and how. Correct. So why do you need data. You need data to actually land some of your hypothesis with a little bit of proof. And I would say when we were growing up as at least I when I was I was growing up whatever I was observing and taking from nature from all my life experience and all that was data for me. And the human processor is in work you know for ages right now we have processors which actually help us aggregate that data more. Make it more I would say usable for a larger audience and it it is easier for us now to scale things.

So that's the difference or that's the benefit that has come with a lot more data available. But I think decision making even today okay has to be a mix of both okay not everything that you can you know make a decision on basis the available data still you have to use your instinct still you have to use your gut. So in my experience of you know all the working years and you know both in terms of sales marketing businesses and all I think how it has evolved is like how we use it in worse who need today. We actually enjoy data and when I say we enjoy data is because we have a philosophy of experimenting a lot.

And when you have that philosophy what you do is with the help of data you keep on experimenting but you learn very quickly and when I say learn quickly is like you fail faster. In case if you are failing faster you learn from it you come back you restart and then you are up for something else. That is how data is helping. So in that sense the availability of data and God knows we're drowning in data. On a practical basis the application is it allows you to to experiment at a much faster rate and find out than you would historically. Absolutely. And that's why I'm saying data should liberate us.

It should not slow us down because if you if you if you if you if you keep on thinking too much about what is available and what is visible to you and you do you you actually use it to delay the decisions. It's not helpful. What is helping is like you use the data which is available to you. You make your decisions faster. You learn from your activities. And you know this is the result you start. Let's personalize this a little bit because you're someone along with a number of our guests that you know you're a veteran. You've got a lot of experience. But when you you know and in that sense you you have a lot of experience of the analog age and the digital age. So perhaps that makes you better able to combine the art and the science.

Do you find that with the younger generation of marketers who are pure digital natives and we'll get to Abhinav in a second to talk about that type of business. Are they any less able to apply the art to the science or do you find that they're so data driven they may not see the the data would from the arts trees. I don't completely agree with you on that and I I you know I'm actually inspired by a lot of young marketers in my own organization. I see that they make a balance between both provided the direction that you provide to them is clear to them.

See I think it is an age where you bring more clarity you know you have better results and in terms of both art and science and they actually in our organization at least that's my you know experience till date with the young marketers they are smart. And if you empower them to say use data because if you are clear about why and what and how then they are actually making data as their biggest enabler but they are not leaving the art behind. Well and actually thinking about it they're generationally versus you and me probably better to are better able to argue. With authority than you and I may have been when we started. That's very interesting.

Now just let's go back to the data bit here because it's only as good as what you do with it right but it's not in any way innately good and it can be very bad right. Have you had experience where data is frankly bad misleading or worse. So I will give you an example. See what happens is when you are getting the results as per your expectation then actually everything falls in place and you are moving. And when the results are not there as per your expectations sometimes what happens is I have seen a lot of occasions where data is being used first to cover up for you know not delivering on results. Second data has actually confused a lot of decisions rather than it has helped us to make that decision.

And you know this is where I think data sometimes sometimes can become a bottleneck rather than you know it should actually fasten the journey. And for me that is why it is important and especially people who are in the decision making positions. It is very important for them to actually make the clarity in the entire space that why what and how we are going to use data and data should not slow us down. And that's where I was coming from. So it is it is actually the situational usage of that data is very very important. And that for me is not only a science it's an art because you should be able to apply that data to that situation. When you think as we get into the home straight of this far too short debate goal.

You know I saw a study out of Kellogg a little bit out of date now that said that 80 percent of companies marketing departments were effectively not driven by data. Is that changing. Do you still see a very stark contrast between ones that are data led and ones that aren't led. I think it is definitely changing. This is a space where I think more and more meaningful data is available and measurable you know KPIs are more available. Now in in in today's era it is difficult for marketers not to use data and that's why I think I I I personally believe that that has changed. There is a lot of infusion of meaningful insights from the data available and data available is also making everything more and more measurable.

And that's why it is definitely an ask for the marketers today to use data to reach to the correct insights and make the right decisions. Yeah I guess it's so pervasive now with sort of beyond the point where you've got frankly any excuse maybe in the past you you kind of had an excuse. Goal you've been a fantastic guest to start the show. We wish you the best for 2024. Thank you so much for appearing on Trailblazers.