The Cost of Slow Data: Why Timeliness is Key in Brand Tracking

A report by Forrester Research found that 74% of businesses say that they want to be data-driven, but only 29% feel that they are actually successful in using data to inform their decisions. This is particularly true within insight teams that require brand tracking data that is as current as the decisions they inform. Unlike other data sources—such as sales figures, media analytics, and web traffic, which are often available in real time—brand tracking data is frequently delayed due to manual processes. The consequence? Insights arrive too late to be impactful, causing stakeholders frustration, limiting insight teams' strategic influence and calling the brand tracking programme into question.

The traditional approach to brand tracking—requiring extensive fieldwork, data cleaning, and manual reporting—can take weeks. By the time insights reach decision-makers, the landscape may have already changed. This delay reduces the value of brand tracking as insight teams struggle to deliver proactive, high-impact recommendations.

The Challenges of Slow Data

Disjointed View of Your Brand

When data arrives late, it risks being dismissed as outdated. Stakeholders prioritise fresh insights that align with their real-time decision-making needs. If brand tracking data is constantly delayed, it may be overlooked in favour of more immediately available datasets.

Suppose marketing teams receive sales and campaign performance data in real time but have to wait weeks for brand tracking insights. They may need to exclude brand health metrics from their reports, which results in an incomplete picture of marketing effectiveness and reduces the influence of brand tracking within the business.

Losing Competitive Advantage

Modern businesses operate on rapid decision-making cycles. Teams need timely data to react to competitive threats, shifts in consumer sentiment, and emerging market trends. When brand tracking data lags, it becomes irrelevant to time-sensitive decisions. Without up-to-date brand data, a company may fail to recognise a sudden drop in consumer preference until it’s too late to act, allowing competitors to gain an advantage.

Delays Take Up Resources (That Could Be Better Used Elsewhere)

Even after data is collected, internal review processes often add further delays. Insight teams must sift through reports, validate findings, and create summaries before distributing data to stakeholders.

Lengthy reports require significant time to analyse and interpret. This extra step further prolongs the time it takes for insights to reach decision-makers.

Additional Agency Expenses

Traditional brand tracking reports are often static and inflexible, forcing stakeholders to request additional data cuts and custom analyses. This back-and-forth slows down decision-making and increases reliance on agencies. When stakeholders need a specific data cut not included in a standard report, they must submit a request to an agency, causing further delays and limiting agility.

Diminished Effectiveness of Brand Tracking Programme

When data arrives late, insight professionals are forced into a reactive position, reporting on past trends rather than shaping future strategies. If brand tracking insights always arrive weeks after marketing campaigns have launched, they lose their relevance in shaping real-time adjustments, making it harder to maximise campaign effectiveness. This minimises the effectiveness of the brand tracking programme, making it harder to justify the budget teams need to sustain the programme.

Enlyta’s Role in Reducing Data Friction

Automated Data Uploads

To eliminate delays, Enlyta enables automated data uploads, ensuring brand tracking data is available as soon as it’s collected. This removes the need for manual intervention and dramatically reduces turnaround time. With automated uploads, insight teams can access fresh brand data instantly, rather than waiting for reports to be manually compiled and distributed.

Interactive Dashboards and Tools

Enlyta’s self-serve dashboards and intuitive chart-building tools empower stakeholders to explore the data they need—without waiting for pre-formatted reports. Instead of requesting a specific data cut from an insight team, stakeholders can instantly access and filter brand tracking metrics whenever they need it.

Significance Reports and Alerts

Rather than requiring users to sift through dashboards, Enlyta provides automated alerts for significant shifts in key brand metrics. This ensures stakeholders are immediately aware of important changes. If a major competitor experiences a surge in brand preference, Enlyta can trigger an alert, allowing marketing and insight teams to respond quickly.

Curated Views for Different Teams

Different stakeholders require different insights. Enlyta allows insight teams to curate specific views for marketing, product, and leadership teams, ensuring each group sees the data most relevant to their objectives. While marketing teams may focus on campaign effectiveness, product teams might track brand perception related to innovation. Enlyta’s flexibility means each team gets a streamlined, relevant view of the data.

Case Study: How Clients Benefit from Timely Insights

Our clients who use Enlyta often say that the speed and accessibility of data has improved consistently. Because they aren’t dependent on manual processes, they can integrate new brand insights into broader business discussions far more quickly and effectively. Enlyta provides them with the ability to control data cuts and filters - which means that anyone can access the exact insights they need, when they need it. 

The Future of Brand Tracking: AI-Powered Insights

AI Analysis Assistant

Enlyta is currently developing AI-powered analysis assistants to further enhance data democratisation. These AI tools will automate the process of interpreting data and summarising key trends, saving insight teams significant time. The AI assistant will provide instant answers to strategic questions, such as “What are our brand’s biggest strengths and weaknesses?” and “What emerging trends should we be aware of?”

Export for Custom Data Delivery

To further streamline data access, Enlyta’s Export Builder will allow users to build and schedule custom data exports, ensuring they receive timely alerts with the insights they need. Instead of manually pulling reports, users can set up scheduled exports to receive fresh brand tracking data at regular intervals.

Conclusion

Timeliness is no longer a luxury - it’s a necessity. Slow brand tracking data undermines strategic decision-making, leaving insight teams in a reactive position rather than driving proactive change. With tools like automated data uploads, interactive dashboards, curated views, and AI-powered analysis, Enlyta ensures brand tracking insights remain relevant, timely, and actionable.

For insight professionals, the shift towards real-time brand tracking is more than just an efficiency gain—it’s a transformation that positions them as essential strategic partners. The businesses that embrace this shift will not only make faster, better-informed decisions but will also ensure that brand tracking becomes a core driver of long-term success.