Intuition vs Data. Who wins?
“Is one better than the other?”
There was once a time when leadership was dependent on decisions made by the leader's experience and instinct. Slowly after that as technology advanced, we got a hold of ways to capture data of consumers. Analytics took a major turn and today we have some of the most advanced technologies to gather, store and collect data. With this, the decision making power of leaders slowly shifted from their own intuition to more reliance on data. But should data alone be the sole decider for decision making especially in the marketing scenario? Let's find out.
In my opinion, data alone is not enough. Let us look at it this way. Companies collect and store data which is then observed and analyzed by humans for making informed decisions. Unless machines take any action for you, I believe a human’s final judgment and decision is where the process ends. We often forget the two most important human traits: skepticism and critical thinking, which are equally important as data, for running a successful marketing campaign. Data will only enhance the decision-making process, it cannot be the only guidance there is in the marketplace.
How humans will always play a major role in the decision-making process.
In marketing, we have always heard about how learning about consumer behavior will help any marketer understand their audience better and connect with them to deliver the need accordingly. Data surely is important to locate the customer, but that will not provide us with the motivation, aspirations, and needs of the consumers. To make an informed marketing decision, we need to be aware of how and if the audience will be receptive to the message. In this case, creativity and curiosity play a major role in making more efficient and effective decisions.
Data does not provide qualitative insights into the motivations of customers that lead to purchases.
One other thing to consider is data biases. According to the Irish Times, “researchers at Eurecat — the Catalonian Centre for Technology agreed that ‘algorithmic bias exists even when there is no discrimination intention in the developer of the algorithm’.” This simply means that data sources do contain certain forms of biases. More data is never a solution to this problem, but human intuition can be.
Another reason where data falls short is “The Why”. For marketers, this is an incredibly valuable insight that can prevent them from chasing the wrong activities. The “why” behind behaviors simply gives them true insights into their customers.
Data is first, intuition is second…
Don’t get me wrong. I am a full supporter of the stance: intuitions wins. But I am not negligent of the fact that we are living in a data world. Data is certainly important. Any marketing decision will always begin with data but to say that it is enough to make a decision is not right. We have to give credit to the human skill of intuition which simply means, ‘Arriving with confidence at an answer without being able to explain how you got to that answer.’ An expert should have the last word in terms of the final marketing decision and data should be used complementary to that.
Human intuition that is backed by data is the right way to arrive at any marketing decision.
For me, the “Facts and Intuition” debate is similar to the “Listen to your Heart or Mind” debate. I believe that if you listen to and trust your heart it is usually right and you are happier as a result. Similarly, if you trust your own insights and opinions, your intuitions never let you down!
Here is an infographic I created that sums up why big data alone is not enough for making marketing decisions.
Big data, as it’s described today, is not the answer to all questions — and it’s no replacement for the on-the-ground decision-making of real people interacting with real customers.
