The business case for better analytics: A retrospective and the future of theory and practice of marketing science

Abstract

Much of the traditional marketing science practice prior to (and perhaps even throughout) the twentieth-century remained hidebound by lack of information and rules-of-thumb. Perhaps this was because of the lack of technology enabling the diffusion and sharing of information across geographies, people, and disciplines. This has been the case across general market (GM) and culturally specific (CS) research. Technological advancements and increased computational power have enabled broader sharing of information. Some of these changes should have already taken place, yet there is no empirical evidence that the expected changes in marketing science applications have taken place. This would require organisations to remain open minded and risk averse, or at least risk neutral, as many of the rewards of advanced analytics may not be obvious in the short term, especially as investments to finance the creation of such capabilities must be made upfront; this is a chicken-and-egg problem. This paper identifies three syndromes as the culprits of delayed progress in marketing science: syndication, academic, and practitioner. Most of the shortcomings have been the self-imposed simplicity of the marketplace (especially in CPG) by addressing only the demand side only, often overlooking the supply chain side.