By Horst Feldhaeuser, Infotools
In a world awash in data, it’s easy to assume that marketers have everything they need to make smart decisions. From clickstreams and customer journeys to CRM records and transaction logs, data flows in faster than ever. In fact, the volume of data created globally is now estimated at 402 million terabytes per day, and that figure is projected to nearly double by 2028, entering what experts are calling the Yottabyte Era.
It’s a paradox I’ve seen time and again. Despite this flood of information, 87% of marketers say data is the most underutilized asset in their company, and those who do use data strategically see five to eight times more ROI than those who don’t.
So where’s the disconnect?
In many organizations, one major piece of the puzzle is being overlooked: survey data. While behavioral and transactional data get piped directly into performance dashboards, survey data often gets left behind: buried in static PowerPoint decks, siloed in platforms, or otherwise not utilized to its full potential.
Yet surveys are one of the only tools that allow marketers to capture what behavioral data cannot: intent, perceptions, motivations, and beliefs. In short, the “why” behind the “what.”
The “why” behind the “what”
What behavioral data offers in precision, survey data provides in perspective. Surveys allow us to ask questions that behavioral data can’t answer, about intentions, perceptions, motivations, and beliefs. These aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re often the clearest indicators of future behavior.
But when survey data is relegated to PowerPoint decks or siloed dashboards, its value is lost. I’ve worked with clients who spent weeks commissioning high-quality research, only for the results to be shared once, and then forgotten. This is inefficient, it is a missed opportunity and, ultimately, a waste of time and money.
It’s about using data better, not more data
I often return to a story from a global mobile brand we supported. Their insights team was overwhelmed: manually producing monthly reports for dozens of markets, with little time left for meaningful analysis. We helped them transition to a self-service reporting system, where brand managers could access their KPIs directly, whenever they needed them. This shift streamlined reporting, while also freeing up the insights team to dig deeper into trends and provide more strategic guidance. Including the time when they had competitor intelligence answers ready within seconds during a strategic acquisition meeting.
This kind of change isn’t about cutting people out. It’s about elevating everyone’s role. Researchers stop being data distributors and start becoming true consultants. Stakeholders stop waiting for answers and start participating in discovery. And critically, the research itself starts having a visible, measurable impact on business outcomes.
Making survey data count
So how can organizations unlock the real power of their survey data? Here are a few principles I recommend to every client:
- Keep the structure intact. Survey data has unique characteristics (weights, multiple-response formats, coded variables) that need to be preserved to maintain validity. Flattening these into general dashboards strips away what makes them useful.
- Design for exploration. When marketers and analysts can re-cut data by segment, track changes over time, or filter by region without needing an analyst’s help, insights flow more freely and decisions get made faster.
- Automate the mundane. Monthly reports, repetitive queries, and standard KPIs should be automated so your insights team can focus on the real work of interpretation, storytelling, and strategy.
- Empower collaboration. The best outcomes happen when researchers and business stakeholders work together. That requires tools that support shared access, real-time updates, and context-rich discussion.
- Focus on business impact. Whether it’s cost savings, faster time to market, or avoided risks, your survey data should feed directly into the outcomes that matter. As I sometimes say: until something changes in the business, research is just a cost.
More than a file. A force multiplier.
In my experience, the most successful organizations don’t just collect survey data. They activate it. They treat it not as a one-off deliverable but as a continuous source of value, something that lives in their systems, informs their thinking, and evolves alongside their market.
And that’s what’s needed at this moment. Because as we race toward 181 zettabytes of data creation in 2025, the winners won’t be the companies with the most data. They’ll be the ones that use it most meaningfully.
Survey research, properly handled, delivers meaning. And meaning is what moves businesses forward.
About the author
Horst is Group Services Director at Infotools. He is a multi-award-winning research professional with more than two decades’ experience in market research, marketing and business consulting. He is actively involved in the research industry and is a sought-after conference presenter and contributor to industry publications. www.infotools.com
