Research budgets are increasing
The importance of original research has never been more obvious. According to Datalily’s State of Data-Driven Content Marketing Report, 91% of B2B SaaS marketers increased their investment in proprietary research over the past year. But in order to get great data, you need the right team to gather and transform research into content that resonates with your audience.
With 50% of B2B SaaS marketing teams conducting market research for content marketing on a monthly basis, these investments are a big part of the marketing budget, and they need to generate returns for marketing teams. And as HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report reveals, 35% of marketers say using data to inform their marketing efforts has become the most notable change in the industry this past year.
The stakes are high, but so are the rewards. Over 1 in 5 B2B SaaS marketers report that original research generates the highest ROI among all content types. So, are you setting your research up for success or failure?
The gap between gathering data and creating compelling marketing content
There’s often an awkward dance between data teams and creative teams.
The 2024 Marketing Week Career & Salary Survey found that over a third (36.9%) of more than 3,000 marketers surveyed say data and analytics is the biggest skills gap within their team. It’s not that people don’t recognize the importance of data. They just don’t always know how to connect the raw numbers and compelling narratives.
On one side, you have data that’s structured and precise. On the other, you have creativity that’s intuitive and sometimes beautifully chaotic. These aren’t opposing forces, and when they work together, they can turn research from basic to innovative.
Why the “just figure it out” approach doesn’t work
Where many teams go wrong is by assuming that anyone can wear any hat. “Sarah’s pretty creative; she can probably design that research report, right?” Or “Mike knows Excel, so he can handle the data visualization for our campaign.”
Wrong. So very wrong.
When people are assigned tasks outside their skillset, they’re trying to learn new skills while simultaneously delivering results. The outcome is usually subpar work, mental exhaustion, and a whole lot of time spent fixing avoidable mistakes.
Here are a few ways to remedy this:
Improve communication channels between your data and creative teams. Regular check-ins aren’t enough. Create structured workflows that keep everyone on the same page.
Bring in specialists through freelancers or agencies when you need expertise you don’t have in-house.
Invest in cross-training sessions where team members can learn from each other without being expected to become experts overnight.
“Forcing roles onto people without the right experience or expertise is like asking a world-class pianist to perform surgery just because they have nimble fingers.”
Natalie Zunker, Editorial Strategy Manager, Square
AI is your data analysis and content sidekick
AI won’t replace your data team or your writers, but it can close the gap between them. Use it to pull cross-tabs, surface standout findings and draft first versions of charts, then let your experts shape the story.
