Why a data hub is essential for marketing measurement

You can't make effective marketing decisions with bad data. Period. In an age where numbers drive marketing, if you're still relying on fragmented data from siloed platforms, you're flying blind. Siloed platforms treat results with bias and in isolation. It's like looking at the gauges on your car's dashboard and seeing pointers going in different directions. How would you know which gauge to trust?

Collecting and preparing marketing data for measurement is not just about having data. It's about having the right data at the right time so you can easily use it to make sound decisions. Marketers can only achieve this with a marketing data hub that gathers, normalizes and aggregates data so it’s reliable, accessible and analysis-ready. 

A data hub automates data collection and transformation, which means less human intervention and a reduced possibility of errors. A data hub also enables you to use always-on measurement, not one-off reports that become obsolete the moment they’re delivered.

Marketing measurement is flawed, and many marketers look at metrics that point them in the wrong direction without realizing it. If your metrics cloud your judgment and lead to a bad move, you could be looking at a very expensive mistake. A marketing data hub changes the game, enabling you to rely on your data and make decisions confidently. 

Why you struggle with measurement

Let’s be blunt: most marketers struggle with measurement. Sure, you’ve got access to more data than ever, but is it actionable? Is it consistent? Does it even make sense when you put it all together?

The truth is, marketing measurement today is overly complex. Here are just four reasons why:

Four reasons measurement is broken

• Too many data sources with incorrect attribution: You’re pulling data from Facebook, Google Ads, email marketing campaigns and CRM systems, but they don’t connect. Each platform works in its silo, and integrating them manually is a hassle. Every minute spent wrangling data is a minute lost.

• No integration, no insights: Most platforms don’t play nice with each other. APIs are inconsistent, some systems work, and others fall flat. The time wasted exporting, cleaning and aligning data is time better spent analyzing insights. By the time everything comes together, the data’s outdated.

• Human errors are costly: Even with data in place, manual processing introduces errors. One wrong number can throw your entire strategy off course. Inconsistent data, duplicates and missed metrics are ticking time bombs that can derail your business.

• The price of poor data quality: Gartner found that decisions based on bad data cost companies an average of $12.9 million annually — this doesn’t even account for the IT resources wasted pulling, cross-checking and de-duping data.

Traditional measurement is a huge investment in time and money

The more complex the project, the more expensive and time-consuming it gets. Major measurement projects are resource hogs that take weeks or months to get off the ground. 

You don’t have that kind of time to wait for insights when you’re trying to drive results now. 

And the risks? 

A wrong call could cost you millions. Especially because existing attribution methods simply don’t work.

If you’re not leveraging a marketing data hub, you’re dealing with these exact problems daily. It’s time to stop fighting your data environment and build a centralized marketing intelligence hub instead.

A marketing data hub – the foundation of sound measurement

What if the metrics guiding your $100k campaign are misleading you? What’s the potential impact on marketing performance and, more importantly, revenue growth? The cold, hard truth is that not being confident in your data is a risk you can’t afford to take. 

But suppose the data used for marketing measurement is centralized and normalized in a data hub first. In that case, you get three big wins: clearer insights, better decision-making and more effective marketing strategies.

So, what exactly does a marketing data hub do?

Centralizes data from every platform

A marketing data hub brings everything into one place. Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, CRM data, email campaigns, TV, DOOH — you name it. It’s all in one spot, ready to be analyzed. No more wasting time bouncing between platforms, logging into a million tools and spreadsheets and manually pulling reports.

Normalizes your data

Raw data from different platforms often looks like a jumble of numbers. A data hub standardizes that data, ensuring consistency and making it way easier to compare apples to apples across platforms. 

Whether you’re looking at clicks, conversions or impressions, the data will be in a consistent format, saving you from the headaches of mismatched info or from making a decision based on accidentally inflated metrics.

Automates the process

Gone are the days of manual data entry, cleaning and processing. With a data hub, everything runs automatically. No more errors due to human input and no more wasted hours manually scrubbing data sets. Just clean, consistent and ready-to-analyze data, on demand.

Timely marketing performance measurement

Static reports are useless. By the time you get them, the campaign’s already over, and the data’s irrelevant. A data hub gives you always-on measurement. You get the insights you need to adjust strategies as they unfold. This means you can pivot faster and spend smarter without second-guessing your numbers.

Why do you need a data hub as CMO?

• Speed: No more waiting for reports or scrambling to pull data together. You get insights you can trust when you need them. 

• Accuracy: Automation and data normalization mean fewer errors and more reliable results.

• Scalability: As your campaigns grow, you have more data, but your data hub handles it all without missing a beat.

A marketer’s use case for a centralized data hub

Let’s look at how a data hub can transform how you handle a major measurement project, such as running a cross-channel campaign.

Scenario: A multi-channel campaign measurement project

You’re tasked with measuring the success of a 12-month multi-channel marketing campaign. The campaign includes paid ads on Facebook and Google, email newsletters, influencer marketing, TV and on-site content.

You need to determine which channels contribute most to the campaign’s success and optimize the strategy for the future. You also need to eliminate any incidental sales that would have happened anyway. Your CFO also wants to know what factors play a role, such as seasonality, discounts and market trends.

Getting started without a marketing data hub

Getting started without a marketing data hub means you’d have to manually export data from each platform — Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, your email platform and CRM. Then, the data team would need to clean and normalize it to ensure consistency across platforms, like making sure what Facebook considers an impression matches what Google uses. 

Since you're not working in a vacuum and both the data and marketing teams are juggling this task alongside other work, this process could easily take weeks, leaving little time for actual analysis. 

Plus, human error is inevitable. Duplicate entries and misaligned marketing metrics can easily distort the results. And remember, these are the results your C-suite will base decisions on, including measuring your effectiveness and making decisions about your budget.

Managing measurement with a marketing data hub

On the other hand, instead of manually pulling data, your marketing data hub helps by automatically collecting and centralizing data from all platforms. 

Data is cleaned and normalized, ensuring consistency. You can access everything in one place and quickly generate insights. 

Timely reporting lets you adjust campaigns mid-flight, optimizing budget allocation or shifting focus to the most successful marketing channels.

Plus, with a more holistic overview, rather than judging your marketing performance by channel, you can look at more valuable metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV) and customer acquisition costs (CAC) to better understand your overall marketing effectiveness — something your CFO will love you for.

A marketing data hub gives you:

• Reduced time-to-insight: You can access the data almost immediately, drastically cutting down the time it takes to analyze campaign performance.

• Fewer errors: Automation reduces human error, ensuring that the final insights are accurate and actionable.

• Greater flexibility: With real-time data, you can optimize campaigns on the fly, making adjustments to boost ROI.

Now, that’s not to say that this can happen overnight. The initial setup will take time. But the difference is that when you use a data hub, you’re setting up an always-on marketing intelligence solution that you can keep using for measurement. You’re investing in a strategic advantage that will keep you one step ahead of all those competitors who are still measuring manually.

Cost implications and an annual revenue loss of 20-35%

Imagine continuing to spend $100k a month on a channel that’s not performing. Without accurate data and proper measurement tools, marketing mistakes like this can cost a business dearly. 

In fact, poor quality can cost businesses between 20% to 35% of their annual revenue, and this is just one among multiple potential consequences of not using a data hub:

Misallocated budgets

• If you lack accurate, timely digital marketing data, you might unknowingly continue to spend on underperforming marketing channels while neglecting high-performing ones. 

• This could lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities, costing millions over time.

Inaccurate campaign results

• If errors in data processing lead to misinterpreted results, you might make a strategic decision based on false assumptions. 

• A wrong move or sloppy data handling could lead to a one-million-dollar mistake.

Missed insights

• The failure to act quickly on emerging trends or underperforming marketing metrics could result in missed revenue opportunities. 

• A lack of timely insights means you can't pivot your strategy fast enough to capitalize on what’s working and turn off what isn’t. 

What that means for your marketing team:

• By using a data hub, you can avoid these costly mistakes. 

• The automation and accuracy provided by a data hub reduce the likelihood of misallocating funds, misinterpreting results and missing important trends that could make or break the budget.

But don’t take our word for it…

These businesses invested in marketing intelligence, and they saw results like: 

75% reduction in data warehouse costs

Sephora leveraged a marketing data hub to streamline its data management across 18 local teams in Europe. By centralizing and automating data collection, they reduced data warehouse costs by 75%.

This system provided timely, consistent reports, saving hours each week for both central and local teams, who no longer had to manually collect and analyze data. With everyone from senior leadership to local markets accessing the same insights, Sephora enhanced its decision-making and optimized marketing efforts across the board.

A 10x ROI in the first year of implementation

Digital Reach boosted its marketing efficiency by adopting a marketing data hub, achieving a 12x return on investment within the first year. Automating data collection and reporting saved over 10,000 manual work hours annually, reducing performance monitoring time by 90%. 

This allowed the data and marketing teams to focus more on strategic tasks, improving overall productivity. With fewer manual processes and less room for error, Digital Reach enhanced its insights and delivered greater value, increasing client satisfaction.

An investment in a data hub is an investment in strategic growth

Marketing data is more abundant than ever, and having the right tools to make sense of it is absolutely critical. A data hub centralizes, automates and normalizes all that data, ensuring accuracy, efficiency and timely insights that can drive real growth for your business. 

Without a robust data hub, organizations risk facing inefficient processes, human errors and costly mistakes. As your marketing efforts become more complex and budgets grow, it’s clear that a data hub isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must. If you’re serious about improving performance, boosting accuracy and avoiding those costly missteps, adopting a data hub is your first step toward smarter, more reliable marketing intelligence that truly fuels growth.