Software is eating the world – and with that comes a lot of data.
In our interconnected world, it’s easier than ever to access hyperpersonal data about your customers, potential leads, and your target audience. Nowadays, telling someone you’re a data-driven marketer seems redundant. All marketers should be beholden to the data at their fingertips. It’s no longer a question of whether consumer data drives conversions; it’s the question of how best to use that information.
The competitive advantage of having unique marketing data has transformed the marketing operations space. It’s become essential to have a system for tracking, maintaining, reporting, and managing marketing information.
Many companies use marketing resource management software (MRM) as a key component of a marketing operations strategy. It can help to organize information, build plans, collect and share assets, and publish campaigns.
What is marketing information management?
Marketing information management (MIM) is the process marketing operations teams use to collect, organize, store, and analyze data, ranging from internal performance metrics to competitive intelligence and market research. This system helps marketers centralize insights from campaigns, sales figures, and customer behavior to make more data-driven decisions.
According to G2’s Grid® Report for marketing resource management, tools like Asana, Wrike, and monday.com consistently rank high for usability, integrations, and reporting capabilities, 3 of the most critical factors for marketing teams managing complex data operations.
Marketing information management ensures you have the correct information about your customers. Marketing operations teams understand the importance of clean, organized data that is easy to understand, and they often use marketing information management to do this.
TL;DR: Everything you need to know about marketing information management
- What is marketing information management? It’s the structured process of managing marketing data to support smarter, data-driven decisions.
- Why does it matter? It helps teams uncover insights, act faster, stay aligned, and gain a competitive edge.
- How is it different from a CRM? CRMs focus on customer interactions, while MIM covers all marketing data for strategic use.
- What role does AI play? AI improves data quality, detects patterns, delivers insights, and automates recommendations.
- Who benefits from MIM? Marketing, sales, product, customer success, and leadership teams rely on it for decision-making.
- What are common mistakes? Issues like bad data, lack of governance, poor training, and security gaps can undermine MIM.
- How do you get started? Begin with clear goals, select key data sources, adopt a platform, train teams, and standardize reporting.
- What tools or systems support MIM? Popular platforms include Improvado, Supermetrics, Adobe Experience Cloud, and Aprimo.
Why do you need a marketing information management strategy?
87% of marketers believe that data is the most underutilized asset in their companies. The perks of knowing those key details about prospects and customers can make or break deals. They can also mean the difference between another lousy low-level contract renewal and an upsell. Marketing data is so valuable that it’s created its cottage industry of businesses, and business is booming. This is why building concrete processes for acquiring and handling user data is important.
With MRM software, your team can:
- Collect and store data across multiple marketing channels in a single place
- Manage marketing budgets and campaign planning within the same platform
- Track and build reports on the success of marketing campaigns and assets
- Integrate with third-party marketing tools to execute marketing campaigns
- Easily share and distribute marketing data and materials across teams
Marketing information management can give you incredible insights. Not only that, it can help your marketing team build a more cohesive strategy and enable easier decision-making. By managing your marketing resources correctly, less time can be spent on collecting information, and more time can be spent using it.
Some people find it easier to understand marketing information management through real-world scenarios. Here’s just one example of marketing information management.
Example: The Head of Growth Marketing at your company is planning to run a targeted email campaign to high-profile CMOs in your industry with a goal of hitting a fifty-percent open rate. They decide to use the information in the marketing information management system to find which CMOs interact most with the company newsletter and social media posts. Using this information, a list of the most engaged users is created, and the strategy goes from there.
Who benefits from marketing information management?
Marketing information management is not limited to your marketing team. Everyone in your organization can use the data collected and organized by your marketing operations team. These insights provide deep analysis of your ideal customer and, when used correctly, can help get your entire organization moving forward in the same direction.
How teams use MIM insights across the organization
- Product teams: Offer user insights on how to make a better product
- Sales teams: Allow BDRs to make deeper connections with prospective customers
- Customer success teams: Help maintain relationships with current customers
- Marketing teams: Provide talking points to connect with leads
- C-Suite executives: Give a clear view of where the company is headed and performing
Marketing is everyone’s job. It’s the job of the marketing team to provide other teams with the information they need to make smarter decisions. It also allows you to build a unified message that your organization as a whole can get behind.
3 components of a marketing information management system
Most companies use marketing information systems to track three things: internal data, competitor insights, and market research. Each of these information systems breaks down into more detailed subsections. For now, let’s review each of these and what data your marketing team might be tracking in each.
1. Internal marketing data: the foundation of MIM
Internal company data includes any data that is accessible only to those who work within an organization. These are your internal insights that highlight company capabilities, product success, and more.
Think of your internal company data as the foundation to build your marketing strategy on top of. Without a solid foundation, third-party data or marketing research doesn’t pack the same punch. It’s important to understand your own data first before you can add anything else to the mix.
Information in internal data includes:
- Sales records
- Product information
- Brand positioning
- Pricing strategy
- Company roadmaps
Marketing information management is great for internal data because it allows anyone in your company to access information. For example, instead of hunting around for pricing information, a sales rep could easily find and access this information on their own with the help of a marketing information system. This saves everyone time and allows everyone in your company to work more autonomously.
2. Competitor insights: track where you stand in the market
Competitor insight data includes any data collected from third-party sources, such as trade journals, industry associations, or buyer intent data. While your internal marketing data gives you a snapshot of your product as it stands alone, competitor insight data helps you understand how your product ranks against the competition.
Information in competitive insights includes:
- Projected market share of your product
- Competitor insights in your industry
- Product comparisons between competitors
- Industry trends for future planning
Marketing information management systems allow this third-party data to be collected and analyzed alongside your own internal data. This centralized information hub gives you a deeper insight into how all the information about your marketing efforts works together.
3. Market research: understand what your customers actually want
Market research includes any method used to understand your company’s target market better. The primary difference between market research and competitor insights is that market research focuses on how your team can create better products and experiences for your customers based solely on their experience with your company.
Marketing research is also most often conducted by your own company, which is another key difference between market research and competitor analysis. While this research can be conducted using the help of outside vendors, your
Information in market research includes:
The combined information from all three of these data collection methods will allow your company to make strategic decisions. Marketing information management is designed to collect, sort, and categorize this data in a way that anyone can understand and use.
How AI is transforming marketing information management
Artificial intelligence has transformed the way marketing teams collect, interpret, and act on data. What once required manual spreadsheets and weekly check-ins is now accelerated by machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics — all embedded within modern MIM systems.
Today’s leading marketing resource management platforms use AI to clean messy data, surface trends, and even make proactive recommendations. These tools can automatically categorize campaign results, flag anomalies in real-time, and identify patterns your team might miss. It’s like giving your marketers a data scientist sidekick, one that works 24/7.
Generative AI also plays a key role. Instead of sifting through dashboards or CSV files, marketers can ask their MIM system natural language questions like “Which campaigns performed best among mid-market leads last quarter?” or “Why did open rates drop in Q2?” The AI responds with insights and often suggests actions.
This evolution doesn’t just save time; it leads to better outcomes. Imagine your MIM system automatically detecting a drop in engagement among enterprise buyers and recommending new messaging based on what’s worked historically. Or flagging social posts that outperform email among a specific segment. That’s not just analytics, it’s intelligent decision support.
By embedding AI into their data workflows, marketing teams move from reactive to proactive. Less time is spent gathering information, and more time is spent using it.
What data should you track in your MIM system?
If you’ve never built a marketing information system before, knowing the exact data points you should be tracking can be tricky. Let’s dive even deeper into the data and discuss what exact data collection will be helpful for your business. As always, the list provided below is just an example of what you might want to track. Ultimately, the decisions about what data pushes the needle for your business are entirely up to you.
Data that can be collected:
- Company sizes and resources
- Campaign and communication data
- Website traffic and SEO
- Email campaigns
- Social media
- Sales information
- Customer review information
- Customer support data
- PR measurement and brand mentions
- Advertising efforts
There will always be extra data points depending on your business or industry that were not included in the list above. That’s why it’s always important to conduct your own research and decide which mix of marketing data needs to be included in your marketing information management strategy.
What marketing reports can you build with MIM tools?
One of the many benefits of marketing information management is the ability to create reports with laser-focused insights. Many marketing information management systems allow you to run reports, but what reports should be created? Marketing reports are designed to make the data easy to understand for those who don’t work with it every day.
The key to world-class marketing reports lies in the ability to generate these reports on a consistent basis with the same information every time. Consistent, repeatable processes for building your reports will give you the best
Marketing reports you can create:
- Time series model: forecast sales projections by looking at historical data, seasonality, sales cycles, and more
- Brand-switching model: track customer buying habits and behavior to predict what might cause customers to switch from your brand to a competitor
- SWOT analysis: analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your business and pinpoint which areas you can improve upon
- Target market analysis: Pinpoint your target market and discover what types of marketing efforts will allow you to reach your target audience
- Linear programming model: predict business outcomes such as revenue models and profit margins using mathematical programming models
- Elasticity models: allow you to see how changes to your business, such as pricing, product supply, client demand, and more, impact long-term outcomes for your business
- Regression models: highlight the relationship between different business variables, both internally and externally, within the larger competitive landscape
The more time you spend tailoring your reports to your business, the more valuable your insights will be. Basic reporting is a great way to dip your toes in the data end of the marketing swimming pool, but at some point, you’ll want to dive in headfirst. Most marketing information management systems allow customizable reporting options, which makes them perfect for this.
How to build a marketing information management strategy
It’s not enough to buy some software and connect it to all of your existing SaaS tools. A defined marketing data strategy will help you outshine your competitors. It takes just five easy steps to begin building your marketing information management strategy.
1. Establish goals with company leadership
Depending on the KPIs your team is tracking, your marketing information system can perform various functions. Establishing clear goals with your team at the beginning can help save a lot of time and confusion later down the road.
Questions to ask while setting expectations:
- What is the primary interest in using your marketing data?
- How can this data help other teams across the organization?
- What types of reports would you like to create with this data?
- Who will be responsible for managing the data and reporting?
- What is your budget for choosing the right marketing information system?
- What functions would you like to be included in your marketing information system?
The best way to get answers to these questions and more is to sit down with your organization’s leaders to discuss. Some companies choose to keep these decisions internal to the marketing team. However, if your organization is small enough to include all your senior leadership, consider inviting them into the conversation.
2. Choose which data to collect and manage
Now that you understand the goals, it’s much easier to choose what data will help you reach them. Think of your planning strategy as you choose which hiking trail you want to climb, and your data selection process as deciding which tools to pack in your backpack. You can only take what you planned on packing on your hike, and data is the same way.
Remember, data is divided into three categories: internal data, competitor insights, and market research. During this process, you should consider several data sources.
Reporting also requires data to be selected before reports are run, so be sure to include anything you think your team will need. It’s possible to add new data to your marketing information system at any point, but in many cases, that data can’t be pulled for historical reports that have already run. For consistency’s sake, it’s always best to include any data that is relevant to your organization.
3. Bring everyone up to speed
Once you’ve chosen your tool, it’s time to get everyone up to speed. Whether it’s your first time using a marketing information system or you’re just switching to a new one, there are steps you should take to ensure everyone understands the new system.
Steps to follow after implementing the MIM system:
- Speak with the internal marketing team about how your new marketing information management system will impact their work
- Inform your sales team how marketing data can be used to drive revenue growth and make closer connections with leads
- Communicate with your product team about how customer data can be leveraged for product design and optimization
- Allocate login information to anyone who needs access to the marketing information system on a regular basis
If you use an internal communication tool, it might also benefit you to have important information located there. This allows anyone with questions to easily search for answers on their own without having to bother your team for information.
4. Implement and track your new process
Unfortunately, some steps cannot be taken until your tool is live and ready to use. This often includes migrating your data and connecting your existing SaaS products to your new marketing information management system, which is tedious and time-consuming.
Don’t rush your software migration. Speeding through this step can lead to mistakes that will impact the quality and accuracy of your data. Take the time to make sure everything is feeding into the new system correctly, and run a few test reports to ensure the system’s accuracy.
You should also take the time to train anyone who will be using this system daily on how it operates. Many companies offer training materials along with your subscription. Take advantage of any training documents, videos, or information provided to you and give your team adequate time to absorb the information.
From there, the only thing left to do is utilize your new system and track the success. Check in after six months and see where things stand.
Questions to gauge the success of your MIM system:
- Is the system working the way you hoped it would?
- Are the reports being pulled helpful to your team?
- Is there anything your software doesn’t do that you wish it did?
- Do the benefits of your system outweigh the costs?
Most software contracts run annually, so a six-month check-in with your current system is ideal because it lets you decide if it’s time to buy new software. It also puts you in a position to negotiate a better deal with your current software provider. Either way, doing a check-in a few months before your contract renewal is set to happen is the best-case scenario.
Benefits of marketing information management
There are countless benefits to having clean and accessible data. With the power of user data, it’s easier than ever to build marketing strategies that drive leads and revenue. The idea behind all of this is to make data easier to understand so that your team can create more informed decisions. Here are just a few of the benefits of building a marketing information system:
Clearer customer demographics and buying cycles
Collecting and managing all of your marketing data in one place allows you to have a singular picture of your customers. Customers take many paths and explore different options before choosing your product. Many teams choose to track marketing touchpoints with an attribution model to get a clearer picture of what the buyer’s journey looks like for their product.
Of course, this attribution data is only one piece of the puzzle. Marketing information management allows you to use that data alongside data from other sources to get a holistic picture of your customer. All of this information together paints the full picture, and having a central data system makes it easier to access all the data your team needs.
A deeper understanding of your place in the competition
Marketing research comprises competitor insights, consumer behavior, economic projections, and marketing trends. This trio of information provides marketers with insights designed to help them stand out among competitors. Marketing information management helps you make the most of this information by organizing and centralizing all of your data. This allows the information to be made available to whoever in your company might need it.
Market research allows companies to have a clear picture of the digital marketing ecosystem around their business. But that information is only valuable if it’s easy to access and understand. That’s why marketing information management is so important for your business.
Increased lead conversions and revenue
As mentioned before, many teams can benefit from marketing data. Once you’ve provided these teams with easy access to the data, it can transform outcomes.
Marketing information management can help improve your business’s bottom line by providing data-driven insights into your marketing strategy. Improved data and insights can benefit everything from social media strategies to email marketing. This will help your team optimize both your product and your marketing.
Not only that, but this data provides you with a glimpse into which marketing strategies don’t drive revenue. Use this information to inform decisions about your marketing budget. Better data means better insights, which leads to smarter spending and an overall focused marketing strategy.
Up-to-date compliance and security practices
Data is one of the most valuable and regulated tools marketers have at their disposal. If you’re going to collect data from users, you must focus on compliance.
Companies that mismanage user data have more to worry about than financial setbacks. Customer trust and brand reputation also suffer massively after a data breach. Marketing resource management systems allow companies to collect data safely. In fact, G2 reviewers frequently highlight attribution accuracy and ease of ROI tracking as major benefits of these tools.
Common marketing information management mistakes
As with any marketing process, there are pitfalls you should be careful about. Data is only as valuable as the team handling it. The increase in global data compliance laws is also making it harder to build a marketing information management strategy. Here are a few of the common mistakes you should watch for.
Data breaches are possible
No matter how sophisticated your marketing information management system claims to be, data leaks and cyberattacks are always a risk. Data is valuable, and there will always be the chance that someone thinks your data is worth stealing. Many companies choose to employ other data security measures, such as third-party authentication, cybersecurity training, and more. Never take a backseat approach to data security, or it could cost you.
Budget restraints are common
Unfortunately, some teams may not have the budget to make a large software purchase immediately. If that’s the case for your business, start by building a case for your decision-maker about why marketing information management software is crucial for your business. Meet with other leaders and explain to them how this purchase can help them drive results. A decision-maker is more likely to agree to purchase the software if multiple teams benefit from it.
Account for human error
Behind every high-powered piece of technology is a human running the operating system. The element of human error is something you always need to consider when dealing with data. One easy way to track human error is to pay close attention to your data. Look for any data points that seem wildly inaccurate or outside your projections. These can often be indicators that a human error skewed the data. Staying vigilant about tracking data trends makes it very easy to spot problems the moment they happen.
Best practices for marketing information management
Building a MIM system is one thing. Operationalizing it at scale across teams and tools is another. Whether you’re launching a new MIM strategy or optimizing an existing one, following a clear set of best practices can help you extract more value from your data.
- Centralize your data sources: A fragmented data ecosystem is one of the biggest blockers to effective marketing decision-making. Your MIM strategy should start with unifying all relevant data into a single source of truth, typically within your MRM platform or customer data platform (CDP). No more siloed spreadsheets or rogue databases. A unified view empowers real-time insights and enables smarter, faster decisions.
- Establish a data governance framework: Marketing data is valuable, but only if it’s reliable. Data governance ensures consistency, accuracy, and compliance across the organization. A well-defined framework reduces risk, improves data quality, and builds trust in the insights your system generates. It also keeps your company aligned with ever-changing privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
- Train cross-functional teams: Your marketing team may lead the charge, but they shouldn’t be the only ones who know how to use the system. Sales, customer success, product, and leadership teams should all understand how to access, interpret, and act on data. The more data-literate your organization becomes, the more value you’ll extract from your MIM investment.
- Standardize reporting templates: Reusable, consistent report templates reduce confusion and accelerate decision-making. When everyone is working from the same set of metrics and visualizations, cross-functional alignment becomes easier. Standard templates also make it easier to automate recurring reports and spot trends over time.
- Conduct regular data hygiene audits: Dirty data is expensive. Inaccurate contacts, outdated metrics, and inconsistent tagging can undermine even the best MIM strategy. Make data hygiene a recurring habit by scheduling routine audits. Regular clean-ups protect data integrity and help your system remain a reliable source of truth for all teams.
Marketing information management: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q. How is MIM different from CRM?
CRMs manage customer relationships and track individual interactions. MIM systems, on the other hand, aggregate and analyze broader sets of marketing data, from campaign performance to market research, to guide strategic decisions beyond just the sales funnel.
Q. Who uses marketing information management systems?
Marketing teams are the primary users, but product, sales, customer success, and executive leadership also rely on MIM insights to inform roadmaps, improve customer experiences, and assess business performance.
Q. What kind of reports can you generate from MIM?
Reports can range from time-series forecasts and customer segmentation to campaign attribution and SWOT analyses. Many systems allow for dashboard visualizations and scheduled report delivery for cross-functional teams.
Q. How do you implement a marketing information management system?
Start by defining goals, selecting key data sources, choosing a platform, and training cross-functional teams. Implementation also includes establishing governance, integrating tools, and running test reports to ensure data accuracy.
Q. How often should you audit your marketing data?
Most organizations benefit from monthly or quarterly data hygiene checks. The more frequently you run campaigns or change data sources, the more often you should audit for accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
Information and education are the keys to success
Helping your organization understand the importance of a good marketing information system can be tricky. Data isn’t flashy like brand assets or snappy like a social copy. But it’s a valuable cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Take the time to understand your data and focus on what’s important. This will provide more valuable and concrete insights than you could’ve dreamed possible.
Learn which marketing objectives are the most popular among marketers and how your data can work with them.
This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information and examples.
