User-centric or data-driven marketing? Or both?

 By Jon Wilkinson

The proliferation of big data and machine learning have allowed content strategists to know more about their customers than ever, leading some to say data science is the sexiest job of the 21st century. 

At the same time, it seems that a user-centric approach to connect with the audience t also shows no signs of slowing. In fact, UX designers now make more money than some software engineers. 

UX researchers rely heavily on qualitative methods, so it seems odd that both data driven and user centric approaches are both growing. What are the strengths and weaknesses and appropriate means to use both?

Data Driven Strategy

Pros

• Social media and search analytics have allowed marketers to have more knowledge about their audience’s preferences than ever.
• Data driven marketing tends to be less resource intensive than user centric marketing because analytics tools are cheaper and faster than extensive user testing. 

Cons

• There is a shortage of marketers with true machine learning skills. 
• Strategists at companies with more data and computational resources have a major advantage over  those who work at smaller companies. 

User-centric marketing 

Pros

• Can make more of an emotional connection with users they  frequently interact with. 
• Can help identify new market segments. 

Cons

• User research is more resource intensive. 
• Qualitative research can fail to be representative of the target audience. 

So what do we do? It’s best to separate what computers are good at from what humans are good at. Computers are better at data driven marketing. Humans are better at qualitative research. Include both methods to be effective.