Data is driving novel money-making methods across business departments, particularly the numbers-driven marketing and sales divisions. Riding shotgun are new accountability standards for payrollers in these respective fiefs. When the boss puts data in one hand, he or she strips excuses from the other — and the results can be sweet.

Historically, marketers could slide by the boss with meager fruits to show from their efforts, according to Brian Goldfarb (pictured), chief marketing officer of Splunk Inc. They might say half the snares they set catch something; half don’t — and they can’t really say which are which.

“You can no longer say, ‘Fifty percent works — I don’t know what half.’ It’s what’s working right now for our customers,'”Goldfarb said. Data is forcing accountability into marketing. Equipped with data and sophisticated data software, marketers now ought to know exactly what’s working and why, and do more of it, he added.

Goldfarb spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at theCUBE’s studio in Palo Alto, California. They discussed the changing role of CMOs and how to market to today’s well-resourced, research-savvy customers.

Making up for lost dime

“I fundamentally believe that the marketing department is the department going through the most transformation right now,” Goldfarb said. “CMOs are under the most pressure to change.”

Long overdue for a dose of accountability, marketers are now using data to better grok customer mentality and nurture relationships. And they’re spreading the wealth to other departments, like sales. Both structured data and unstructured data — from social and community domains — blend together to help marketers forge an “emotional connection” with customers, Goldfarb explained.

Marketers need to meet customers where they are in the decision-making process, which can be far afield of the company’s website. “Most customers are doing more due diligence on their own,” he said. About 60 or 70 percent of decision making takes place before they engage with the brand, according to Goldfarb.

To influence them, it’s crucial to follow them along all points of the journey. Technology like Splunk’s ties all data points together for a full picture, he concluded.

Watch the entire video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations.

Photo: SiliconANGLE