The world of marketing has reinvented itself more in the past two decades than in the hundred years before it. There was a time when intuition ruled and creative directors shaped culture with big, bold ideas. Then came the 90s, when the internet cracked open a new frontier and digital media suddenly made brand-building more accessible and affordable.
But the real turning point arrived in the early 2000s. Search and social media didn’t simply add new channels; they fundamentally rewired how marketing worked. For the first time, brands could measure intent, behaviour, and outcomes in real time, making data the centrepiece of the marketing canvas. With smartphones, apps, and now AI, this evolution has only accelerated, turning marketing into a genuinely data-led craft.
Yet technology alone isn’t driving this shift. Consumer behaviour and expectation have transformed just as dramatically. A typical individual today is exposed to anywhere between 4,000 and 10,000 ads a day. They are tired of generic communication. They expect relevance, consistency, and seamless journeys across every touchpoint, like marketplaces, apps, branches, websites, social platforms, etc. A recent report from Wisernotify notes that 90% of consumers expect consistent experiences across channels, and 89% are frustrated when they must repeat themselves after switching touchpoints.
Overlay this with the complexity of our target audience, i.e., the MSMEs, who are highly fragmented and diverse. They require simple, context-rich communication in local languages and navigate a hybrid journey across digital and physical touchpoints. Their decision-making is non-linear: they explore multiple options, seek validation across channels, drop off due to friction, and often re-enter the funnel weeks later.
For mid-sized NBFCs like Ambit Finvest, a clear data-driven marketing strategy is a competitive necessity. The industry operates in a high-stakes environment where margins are tight, acquisition costs are rising, and customer journeys are becoming increasingly complex.
So what does it take to build a data-driven marketing engine? Think of it as a three-layer value pyramid.
The first layer is the data foundation—the unification of inward-looking data such as channel spends, funnel metrics, cost of acquisition and lead qualification, and conversion ratios. This layer enables marketers to measure what matters, spot leakages early, optimise spend allocation, and improve campaign efficiency. It is where guesswork ends and clarity begins.
The second layer unlocks deep personalisation and targeted activation. This is where outward-looking customer data like behavioural signals, digital interactions, historical profiles, and engagement patterns come together. When stitched meaningfully, it enables progressive profiling, micro-segmentation, and the delivery of tailored content across channels. Modern CDPs (Customer Data Platforms) provide the plumbing for this layer.
But a word of caution: personalisation may be the industry buzzword, but it must be used responsibly. Good personalisation feels delightful; excessive personalisation feels intrusive and spooky and can scare away potential customers. To get this balance right, companies need strong data governance, clear consent practices, and a commitment to using customer data ethically and responsibly.
The final layer is the intelligent growth engine, where the entire system becomes predictive, automated, and real-time. Propensity scoring, AI-led decisioning, and tailored customer journeys for each microsegment allow companies to deliver hyper-relevant and true omnichannel brand experiences at scale. Here, the marketing machinery stops reacting to behaviour and starts anticipating it. This is where data turns into a true competitive advantage.
Most mid-sized companies today sit somewhere between the first 2 layers of this pyramid. Climbing up is not simply a technology challenge; it is a leadership challenge, too. It requires strong cross-functional alignment, a clear data strategy, the discipline to invest in foundational capabilities, and the vision to deploy advanced technology in the right context and manner, where it is fully integrated into the core systems and embedded in the process.
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As the industry stands on the cusp of an AI-led transformation, one thing is clear: this wave will be unlike any we’ve seen before. It’s no longer about plugging a new tool into an old workflow. AI demands that we rethink the workflow itself. It calls for long-term vision, committed leadership, and a real shift in mindset. After all, data may be the new oil, but without the right strategy to refine it, its potential remains raw and untapped.
Views expressed by: Premankur Jana, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Analytics Officer, Ambit Finvest
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