# 3 of The Latest Trends in Marketing Analytics to Look Out For | Capterra > Staying on top of the latest trends in marketing analytics means you stay ahead of the competition. Read on to learn about 3 trends you’ll want to look out for. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/latest-trends-in-marketing-analytics --- Data and AnalyticsMarketing # 3 of The Latest Trends in Marketing Analytics to Look Out For By Gary Froniewski Gary Froniewski Gary Froniewski is a Content Writer at Capterra, covering all things digital marketing, with a focus on emerging trends in experiential marketing. A recipien... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/gfroniewski/) Published January 6, 2023 8 min read ## Staying on top of the latest trends means you stay ahead of the competition. With the limited resources of a small business, taking on the right marketing initiatives and measuring the right success metrics is absolutely critical. If you’re a small-business CMO or marketing leader navigating these waters, a good way to accomplish this is to **stay on top of the latest trends in marketing analytics to continually make smarter, better business decisions.** With insights from Gartner’s 12 Data and Analytics Trends to Keep on Your Radar[\[1\]](#sources) plus survey data from marketing professionals just like you, we’ll dive into 4 analytics trends you should consider adopting now and in the future. Curious about marketing trends that have an even broader impact? Download our eBook covering some of the Top Trends in The Marketing Industry. [](#signup) ## Trend #1: Context-enriched analysis is replacing traditional data Put simply, context-enriched analysis is the next development in data analytics graph technology. With this method, information on the user’s context and needs is held in a graph format that enables deeper analysis using the relationships between data points as much as it uses the data points themselves[\[1\]](#sources). This type of analysis helps identify and create more powerful context based on similarities, constraints, paths, and communities that can be gleaned from various intersections of data. Capturing, storing, and utilizing contextual data in this way demands capabilities and skills in building data pipelines, X analytics techniques[\[2\]](#sources), and artificial intelligence (AI) cloud services that can process different data types (and do so in new ways). This is a startling prediction considering that AI is still coming out of its infancy. Applying it in the majority of context-driven analytics scenarios is closer than we think, however, so you may be asking yourself… ### What can I do to prepare? As a small to midsize business, it’s likely that you don’t have the resources to completely revamp the way you process data internally (at least not immediately). To help prepare for these developments as best you can, it may be a good idea to bring in outside help in the form of a marketing analytics service. These types of agencies specialize in—you guessed it—marketing analytics and can help with things like [business intelligence](https://www.capterra.com/glossary/bi-platforms/), AI implementation, cloud consulting, and more. Whether you hire a marketing analytics service in an ongoing capacity or partner with them for one-off consulting, you’ll gain access to a wealth of expertise in the analytics and cloud computing arena that you simply may not have access to otherwise. A partner like this can help audit your existing data management processes and suggest process and tool improvements that are realistic for your business. The best part? Even with a limited initial investment, you gain information that can be noted and applied now and in the future. Need help finding the right service? Visit our article with [4 Key Considerations to Help You Choose a Digital Marketing Agency](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-to-choose-a-digital-marketing-agency/). ## Trend #2: Chief data officers (CDOs) are not doing enough to foster data literacy According to Capterra’s 2022 Data Visualization in Marketing Survey[\*](#methodology), **79% of US marketing professionals agree that data literacy is very or** **_extremely_** **important to accomplishing their company’s goals.** Despite this, Gartner predicts that—through 2025—the majority of chief data officers (CDOs) will fail to foster the necessary data literacy within their organizations to achieve those goals. So, where’s the disconnect? And more importantly, if data literacy is so critical, how can you foster it within your own business? Heck, what if you don’t even _have_ a CDO? Business owners and data and analytics (D&A) leaders need specialized talent on their teams to drive measurable outcomes. If you’re a small business, however, it’s likely that your marketing team is more generalized. This is compounded by the fact that virtual workplaces and the heightened competition for talent have increased the lack of data literacy—the ability to read, write, and communicate data in context—within the workforce. You can combat this in a few ways, though, even as a small business. ### What can I do to prepare? For starters, as the cost of investing in data literacy training and employee upskilling continues to rise[\[1\]](#sources), consider inserting “payback” clauses into new hire contracts to recover costs in the event that a particularly specialized employee departs your organization.  Speaking of employee development, it’s also a great idea to explore reskilling within your organization. Strive to offer development opportunities that guide your marketing personnel towards becoming T-shaped marketers—employees with both a breadth _and_ depth of knowledge[\[3\]](#sources). This will save you time and money in the long run, provide development opportunities for your employees, and increase your in-house expertise. Another key component of promoting increased data literacy within your organization is to proactively foster it. You can do so with some of the following tactics: - **Establish clear ownership:** Ensure that responsibilities around marketing data within your organization are clearly marked. Having a point person will help you stay organized and guide your development efforts. - **Opt for a marketing analytics tool that your team understands:** This is especially important in resource-constrained environments as it takes time and money to implement [marketing analytics software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-analytics-software/). Choose tools that will make the greatest impact with the smallest lift. - **Promote employee engagement around data processes:** Whether it’s working sessions and virtual training or simply encouraging questions about data management, discussing the subject and offering resources to learn more will have a tangible impact. ## Trend #3: The rise of data fabric The amount of data and application silos within organizations has surged over the last decade. That is, analytics data or marketing analytics tools that are only available to certain personnel or within certain applications. This wouldn’t pose as much of an issue if the number of skilled personnel in D&A teams hadn’t either stayed constant or even declined over the same period.  Enter data fabric. The concept of data fabric represents a flexible, resilient integration of data across platforms and business users. This methodology has emerged as a way to simplify an organization’s data integration infrastructure and create a scalable data architecture that helps reduce technical debt, offering greater flexibility and insight. Aside from reducing technical debt, Gartner asserts that data fabric’s real value is its ability to **dynamically improve data usage with inbuilt analytics, cutting data management efforts by up to 70% and accelerating time to value** for your business. ### What can I do to prepare? The final point above represents the secret sauce of data fabric and how you can apply this enterprise-level principle to your small business.  If you have limited resources or personnel (sensing a theme here?), fully integrating your data infrastructure into a centralized system all relevant users have access to (in this case sales, marketing, and customer-facing roles) can have an incredible impact on your business. _An example of a CRM dashboard with enhanced data functionality from NetSuite (_[_Source_](https://www.capterra.com/p/135757/NetSuite/)_)_ The main way to accomplish this is by adopting [marketing analytics](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-analytics-software/) and [CRM software](https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/) that offer integrations with other key marketing tools in your tech stack, ensuring that all relevant personnel have access to these platforms, and devising a data management strategy that maintains these tools as real sources of truth for your most important customer and business data. Visit these related articles for more on [how to choose the right CRM for your business](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-to-choose-a-crm-for-your-small-business/) and the common features that make [implementing your data into your CRM platform](https://www.capterra.com/resources/crm-implementation-challenge-for-all-businesses/) a piece of cake. Ensuring that the right people have access to the right information at the right time regardless of their role and whether they’re on site or virtual can be a huge boon to your marketing efforts in several ways: - Improves the customer experience by offering quicker outcomes when internal data is necessary to solve an issue. - Improves the employee experience by eliminating role-based data silos. - Saves time, money, and work hours by reducing the effort involved in tracking down business-critical data. ## Capterra tools & tips: Need some extra guidance? Use these resources and consider third-party help Now that you understand the latest trends in marketing analytics and what they mean for your small business, it’s time to keep that momentum going by adopting practices that will help you take full advantage of them. That means continuing to learn more about data management _and_ filling out your team with more data-minded people. If you’re not quite ready to bring more dedicated data specialists to your marketing team, it may be a good idea to bring in outside help in the form of a marketing analytics or (more generally) a digital marketing agency. Third-party relationships like this can help bridge the gap between a full-blown hiring initiative and merely spinning your wheels trying to implement data-centric practices by yourself.  These agencies can range from a set of extra hands to complete daily tasks to long-term strategic partners that help form the big picture for your business. Deciding the route that’s right for you is a matter of examining your organizational goals and resources then choosing an economical solution that fits your specific business. For more help with improving your use of analytics and tips on marketing in general, visit [the Capterra blog](https://www.capterra.com/resources/category/marketing/): - [What Does a Digital Marketing Agency Do?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/what-does-a-digital-marketing-agency-do/) - [4 Key Considerations to Help You Choose a Digital Marketing Agency](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-to-choose-a-digital-marketing-agency/) - [Online Marketing for Small Business: Strategy Tips From Successful SMBs](https://www.capterra.com/resources/online-marketing-for-small-business/) _Note: The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication._ ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **\* Capterra's 2022 Data Visualization in Marketing Survey** was conducted in October 2022 among 294 U.S. marketing professionals to learn about how data visualization tools or software impacts stakeholder decision making. Respondents were screened to have marketing, advertising, communications, or public relations job functions or have some level of involvement in marketing-related activities. All respondents use or produce marketing data to inform decisions. Sources 1. [12 Data and Analytics Trends to Keep on Your Radar](https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/12-data-and-analytics-trends-to-keep-on-your-radar#:~:text=No.%205%3A%20Context,on%20traditional%20data.), Gartner 2. [X Analytics: A New Approach to Data That Accelerates Digital Transformation](https://thenewstack.io/x-analytics-a-new-approach-to-data-that-accelerates-digital-transformation/), The New Stack 3. [What Is A T-Shaped Marketer](https://www.digitalmarketer.com/blog/what-is-t-shaped-marketer/), DigitalMarketer * * * Looking for Marketing Analytics software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Marketing Analytics software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-analytics-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Gary Froniewski](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/gfroniewski/) Gary Froniewski is a Content Writer at Capterra, covering all things digital marketing, with a focus on emerging trends in experiential marketing. A recipient of multiple AMD Spotlight Awards for flagship product launch campaigns, he has a wealth of experience creating compelling copy to support Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike. In his spare time he loves to enjoy food experiences, play tennis and disc golf, and explore nature in his home base of Austin, TX. ### RELATED READING - [Marketing ROI: Prioritizing Your Next Sales and Marketing CRM Investment](https://www.capterra.com/resources/marketing-roi-strategies/) - [How Integrating Email Automation With CRM Systems Boosts Customer Engagement](https://www.capterra.com/resources/integrating-email-automation-with-crm-systems/) - [How to Develop an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy for Customer Engagement](https://www.capterra.com/resources/crm-omnichannel-marketing-strategy/) - [CRM cloud vs. on-premise: Which is better for your business?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/crm-cloud-vs-on-premise/) - [CRM Data Management Explained: From Clean Data to Customer Insights](https://www.capterra.com/resources/crm-data-management/) - [Capterra Sales and Marketing Trends 2026: CRM and AI Adoption Requires Strategic Implementation and Integration](https://www.capterra.com/resources/sales-and-marketing-software-trends/) - [Email Marketing Trends: What SMBs Need To Know To Boost Campaign Performance](https://www.capterra.com/resources/email-marketing-trends/) - [Exploring Different Types of Video Content and Their Benefits](https://www.capterra.com/resources/types-of-video-content/) - [What Are the 8 Types of Digital Marketing?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/types-of-digital-marketing/)