Data Analytics
Marketing Data Analytics comprises the activities and processes of collecting, cleaning, manipulating, and analyzing data to generate actionable managerial insights. Insights on patterns, associations, and predictions help firms identify opportunities for innovative offerings and pinpoint potential issues and threats. The marketing implications span monitoring, understanding, evaluating, and improving firm offerings, customer experiences, and marketing and financial objectives. Job roles in this area are becoming increasingly specialized, and employees need to acquire specific skill sets as they progress in their careers. Many companies have merged Marketing Data Analytics roles into Business Intelligence departments, which may also include Consumer Insights and Market Research.
-
Analytics Director
The Analytics Director establishes and executes the vision for information, delivery, and management. They work on enterprise data warehouses, business intelligence analytics, and content/data management. They partner with other departments to establish priorities and allocate resources to implement business strategies while driving technology strategies that balance short-term and long-term needs and ensure that the data infrastructure can grow and evolve with the business. The Analytics Director uses data
to understand what is working or not, enable optimal resource allocation, and guide marketing and sales success by measuring their activities’ effectiveness. An essential part of their role is forecasting sales performance based on marketing and sales activities and sharing the forecasts with other departments, such as the supply chain team, to optimize production planning. The role involves working with internal teams and/or external consultants to evaluate data inputs, methodology, and results to develop recommendations to improve ROI. (MBA/MS, 8+ yrs. Exp.)
Lead/Principal Analyst
The Principal Analysts are subject matter experts who own the process, methodology, delivery, and development of the analytical components of a product or a project. They provide the expertise and strategic focus needed to conduct complex analyses that may span across departments. (BA/BS, MS, 7+ yrs. Exp.)
Business/Marketing Data Analyst
Business/Marketing Data Analysts collect, manipulate, and analyze data to address business information needs. They determine requirements, devise and evaluate data collection, clean and analyze data, and monitor and forecast trends. They measure the effectiveness of business activities and deliver actionable insights. (BA/BS, 3+ yrs. Exp.)
Data Metrics/Data Reporting/Predictive Analyst
Data Metrics/Predictive Analysts identify opportunities for leveraging data to drive business solutions. They typically work with sales data to evaluate the business, uncover opportunities, and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing and sales activities. They gather, organize, and analyze data in order to find the optimal combination of marketing mix attributes such as pricing, advertising, promotions, and distribution to deliver predictive and prescriptive insights. More recently, these roles have begun to split into two areas: Marketing activities/Data Reporting and Predictive/Advanced Analytics. Advanced Analytics is becoming a separate field with a specific career path that typically falls into data science versus data analytics. (BA/BS, 3+ yrs. Exp.)
Digital Marketing Analyst (See Digital Marketing)
-
Business Intelligence (BI) Lead
The BI Lead guides a team of BI developers in designing, developing, maintaining, and scaling visual analytics and data exploration solutions that may be standalone or integrated within other applications. They architect the necessary infrastructures, create and manage dashboards, and optimize datasets to reduce response times and operational costs. The BI Lead defines and oversees the development process, collaborates with product and engineering teams, and mentors software developers and analysts. Expertise in cloud-based business intelligence, data analytics platforms, and database systems is crucial. These leaders must possess robust data analytics and visualization skills, and relevant experience in leadership and agile methodologies. (BA/BS, 8+ yrs. Exp.)
Business Intelligence Developer
A BI Developer creates, develops, and maintains interactive, client-facing dashboards, data pipelines, and applications to present the data KPIs clearly and interactively. This hands-on role involves building services and infrastructure that support dashboard functionality and data analysis integration within the existing platforms. Responsibilities also include optimizing data visualization and managing the entire lifecycle of BI projects, from data gathering to dashboard implementation. Proficiency in SQL and cloud platforms is essential, and programming skills are advantageous. (BA/BS, 3+ yrs. Exp.)
Business Intelligence Analyst
Business Intelligence Analysts collect and analyze data from within and outside the industry and the firm, and design tools and reports to identify threats and opportunities and enhance business productivity. They use predictive modeling techniques to identify opportunities, forecast revenue, and support revenue generation with timely insights. (BA/BS, 3+ yrs. Exp.)
-
Data Science Director
A Data Science Director oversees the department’s strategies, activities, and competencies to enhance business goals and strategic client partnerships. They keep track of current trends, identify future trends and technologies, and devise data science initiatives to fulfill the business or client’s information needs. Their responsibilities also include planning for talent development and working with other entities within and outside the organization to collaborate, establish priorities, and allocate resources. (MBA/MS, 10+ yrs. Exp.)
Senior Data/Decision Scientist
A Senior Data/Decision Scientist conducts data gathering, processing, and organizing to accomplish strategic or tactical business goals. They collaborate closely with various teams within the organization, including data analysts, engineers, marketing, and external business partners. They also work closely with internal or external clients to translate business objectives into analytical or machine-learning solutions, emphasizing strategic collaboration and narrative construction tailored to client needs. They may employ various analytical and research approaches that span designing experimental frameworks, data collection, and implementing machine learning techniques. (MS, 5+ yrs. Exp.)
Data/Marketing Engineer
Data/Marketing Engineer works with internal or external business partners and leverages technical skills and knowledge to enhance marketing initiatives. They bridge the gap between data engineering and marketing insights to optimize campaign strategies, data analytics, and customer engagement. Their responsibilities include developing, testing, and maintaining data architectures such as databases and data processing systems while implementing predictive models and machine learning methods to drive marketing effectiveness. (BA/BS, MS, 5+ yrs. Exp.)
Junior Data Scientist
A Junior Data Scientist typically has an analytical background and hands-on skills in using various analytical tools and technologies. They use various data analytics techniques to develop actionable managerial insights and recommendations. (BS, 2+ yrs. Exp.)
Individual Contributor/Senior Independent Contributor
An Individual Contributor is a professional specialist who contributes to data teams within an organization without management responsibilities. They focus on functional/ technical delivery of data engineering and modeling activities. (BA/BS or MBA/MS)
The three levels of experience are:
Level 1= 0-3 yrs. Exp., Level 2= 4-8 yrs. Exp., Level 3= 9+ yrs. Exp.
-
Database Manager/Director
A Database Manager/Director leads the design and development of database systems, provides guidance to database teams, and creates standard procedures to maintain the existing database and enhance the scalability and performance of its architecture. (BS, MS, 8+ yrs. Exp.)
Database Management Specialist
Database Management Specialists work with other information technology teams to prevent data breaches and ensure database performance. They analyze, design, test, implement, deploy, and maintain databases. (BS, MS, 5+ yrs. Exp.)
Database Market Research Analyst
A Database Market Research Analyst studies markets, competitors, and consumer behavior to assess product sales potential. They conduct product and brand research, analyze and interpret data, and deliver insights to inform strategies. Their expertise may extend to digital marketing, SEM and SEO practices, data analysis, and reporting actionable insights to the manager/director. (Entry: BA/BS, 2+ yrs. Exp., Senior Level: MS, 4+ yrs. Exp.)
Database Administrator
Database Administrators set up databases according to a company’s needs and ensure they operate efficiently. They work as part of a team of computer programmers and managers to fine-tune databases and upgrade and test modifications as needed. (BS, MS, 2+ yrs. Exp.)
Database Coordinator/Associate
Database Coordinators/Associates are primarily responsible for data maintenance by direct-keying and uploading data files, controlling quality, and maintaining data integrity. They maintain department protocol and train users. (BA/BS, 2+ yrs. Exp.)
Data Entry Assistant/Specialist
Data Entry Assistants/Specialists create spreadsheets with large numbers and verify data by comparing it to source documents. This position requires a basic understanding of databases and good customer service skills. Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are reducing the availability of these roles and their responsibilities. (HS Diploma, AA, 0-2 yrs. Exp.)