The Marketing Optimization Paradox

In theory a marketing system should give us an optimal way of marketing to the customer. This system includes A/B testing, sophisticated multivariate analysis, and other forms of modeling. We know the copy, the message and the pictures that will perform well because the data says they will. Oh, but wait….there is just one problem with all this marketing science stuff. There is also a lot of data that says differentiation is the most important rule in marketing. This creates a kind of paradox.

Which way do you go? You’ve got a hunch that says you should implement y because everyone else is doing x (differentiation), but the data says use x. If the risk involved with trying something new and going against the data is small than it’s not that big of an issue. The real problem involves big, high risk marketing decisions. I think the data vs differentiation issue will become more prevalent as more organizations develop sophisticated marketing tools.