Marketers increasingly rely on data in their management of client/agency relationships. In its survey, “Using Data to Manage Agency Relationships: What’s Important to Marketers,” the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that more than 80 percent of advertisers use data to manage agency relationships. And as advertisers report positive results, its use will likely grow, particularly in the management of media budgets.

“Data helps build better relationships between the client and agency, helping both parties focus on outcomes,” says ANA Group Executive Vice President Bill Duggan. “And at a time where there are transparency issues in the industry, the use of data enhances trust.”

The ANA’s survey found that the use of data to manage agency relationships is on the rise and that 84 percent of respondents report it growing within their organizations. None saw a decline. Respondents do credit it with a number of strong outcomes, with 82 percent noting data’s contributions to better overall client/agency relationships, 90 percent saying it improves agency efficiencies and 78 percent seeing it improving internal efficiencies at the client’s organization.

“Data enhances the conversations between clients and agencies, providing a solid foundation for mutual collaboration,” says Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, a provider of custom agency management solutions for marketers that conducted the survey in conjunction with the ANA. “As the legendary statistician W. Edwards Deming once said, ‘Without data you’re just another person with an opinion.’”

For more on the ANA's findings, click here.