Spending on data analytics is rising, and CMOs report that one of their most effective applications of predictive analytics has been to leverage consumer data to support intuitive hypotheses. With all the buzz about big data, recent studies have shown somewhat conflicting results regarding the extent to which data or intuition is used in decision-making. Now, a new study [PDF] from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicates that few senior executives rely most on data when making big decisions. Even so, many believe that data analysis is bringing into question the credibility of intuition or experience.
The study is based on a survey fielded by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) among 1,135 senior executives from around the world, more than half of whom are C-level executives or board members. Most respondents – roughly three-quarters of whom hail from companies with at least $1 billion in revenues – expect to make big decisions either every month (44%) or every 3 months (35%) this year, with a plurality 30% saying their biggest decision will be opportunistically timed (based on an opportunity that cannot be ignored). With the most important of those decisions being related to growing their existing business, some 30% of respondents estimate that the likely impact of their most important decision will be at least $1 billion, in terms of their organization’s future profitability. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.
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