Ever thought the world has changed? Or, better said, ever realized how much the world has actually changed? And where you are as a professional in this changing world?

A quick four days at emetrics San Francisco a few short days ago proves exactly this, our world has changed and now we live in what we should likely think of is a “measured” world. A world that has taken many industry professionals in marketing and data analysis into new directions.

From the likes of everything on a board to anything represented by a “unit” of something, we got to see a swarm of people trying to make sense of what happened or what is likely happening to our data-driven world today. We are now in a place where everything is carefully measured, where we are a mere number that represents something to somebody else. Better said, we are part of a machine and we all play along fine with this reality that not even marketers are able to fully comprehend.

Tagging, numbers, units and a visual representation of all else we use to communicate converged at emetrics San Francisco.

With now more than 2,000 tools that can do the job a couple of hundred tools used to do a handful of years back, we left the show with a few important takeaways that are likely to continue to define the world of marketing and analytics in the coming days, weeks, months and possibly years.

– If you don’t understand your data, don’t even think about anything marketing related. You’ll drive blind if you do and waste time, money and effort.
– If you understand your data or think you do, think again. There’s a high chance you are analyzing too much or too little and running off on a path not conducive to your goals.
– Get the right tools for the job and put them in place from the start. Yes, this means, find yourself things like a good tag management system, a Data Management Platform to go along with it and finally a dashboard to integrate everything, mainly for the sake of your own sanity.

In today’s world of marketing and technology, the now so called “Martech” is the star to succeed in organizations of all sizes the more these important takeaways are put in particular perspective. Whether working as an internal or external consultant, getting priorities right with clear understanding of where we are as an industry will come in handy at setting the long way forward to success.

Understanding where we are and your situation as a knowledgeable professional with the right tools at hand will set you on the right foot and help you create that great “first impression” More importantly, it will help you define your standing as somebody who knows what we are up to in today’s world.