The digital age has forced organizations to move at the speed of their always-on customers. The strongest marketing strategies transcend borders and underscore the need for marketers to not only acquire data quickly, but also ensure that all data is ethically sourced in compliance with every country-level requirement. According to the World Bank, the majority of global economic growth will be driven by emerging economies, and marketers need to be sure they have their sights set on operating within this border-less ecosystem.

Organized Data is the Best Data

Data sets are found in thousands of different formats and locations, and trying to locate and use data across borders can be an extremely complex task. Historically, marketers have had to search for them, wade through multiple data providers’ websites, sift through massive spreadsheets, and compare and contrast datasets across respective countries in order to align information. Language barriers and inconsistent terminology across cultures create an even more tedious process when trying to discern actionable insight from a dataset. However, today’s most progressive data partners have developed new technologies to house ethical data in one single source, empowering marketers to quickly access trusted data with just a few clicks of the button.

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To be effective, new tools must host data in a manner that is organized and consistent. A clean interface, with the ability to access data in real-time, helps to alleviate the added time it takes to sift through months of data. Additionally, user-friendly controls are critical and must scale across both desktop and mobile. The platform needs to be accessible at a moment’s notice from mobile phones, laptops or any source that can connect to the internet.

Customers are More Than Just Data

Marketers should work with a data provider that can do more than just provide data sets; they should look for a global partner who truly understands the audiences and cultural nuances in each market. This is no small task for data providers and is further complicated by the often multifaceted compliance laws that exist from country to country. Gathering data can be extremely difficult, often taking months to get the approval from each country. When marketers select their data partners, they need to choose a partner that not only has a footprint in the various regions of the world, but is conscious of the varying laws that exist in each country.

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Quality, not Quantity

In the race to acquire the most data at the fastest speed, it might be tempting for marketers to cut corners and utilize the data most easily accessible to them. However, to ensure transparency and full legal responsibility that protects consumers’ data, it’s paramount that marketers use ethically sourced data that is vetted to the highest degree. Marketers need to trust that their data provider has a strong record of ethical data use and can help them comply with the requirements related to access to, and accountability for, the global data they use. They also need a partner that can also manage data quality and identity resolution services that maximize the value of their data acquisitions when combined with their own 1^st party data.

With more and more emerging economies across the world, the need for a trusted, border-less data partner that can provide ethically sourced data is at an all-time high. Marketers need to capitalize on open borders and a global-minded society, and find a partner to help them navigate the complex, yet rewarding, global data landscape. Working with an ethical, global data provider will reap multiple benefits for marketers in a post-GDPR world.

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