Forget big data: Why thinking small can help marketers see the future

No one can predict the future, but smart marketers come pretty close. Using big data and machine intelligence to gauge the possibility of outcomes based on customer data and historical context, predictive analytics are about as magical as you’d expect a crystal ball to be: not perfect, sometimes murky, but more accurate than not. Every day, predictive analytics help marketers improve lead generation, sales opportunities and other critical campaign metrics. As the sheer amount of data in today’s marketing landscape continues to grow, predictive analytics might become more valuable than we’ve previously seen — or insights from analytics campaigns and solutions might start getting lost in a tidal wave of information. Despite this deluge, marketers must maintain their credibility as (almost) certified fortunetellers. Below are three ways to manage data and increase the ROI of predictive analytics campaigns.