Quickest way to improve analytics using live data in a campaign

Most companies rely on stale dashboards despite live data capabilities. Noha Rizk, CMO of Incorta, explains how real-time data infrastructure transforms business decisions across retail, manufacturing, and finance sectors. She covers identifying high-ROI use cases for live data migration, optimizing inventory management through real-time analytics, and balancing structured KPIs with exploratory data analysis to unlock creative business insights.
About the speaker

Noha Rizk

Incorta

- Incorta

Episode Chapters

  • 01:35: Legacy System Challenges

    Organizations stick with delayed dashboards due to investments in legacy systems, user behavior resistance, and the fragmented nature of modern data stacks that make migration difficult and costly.

  • 03:19: Migration as Human Problem

    The challenge of adopting live data infrastructure resembles early internet adoption, where companies built websites like static brochures instead of leveraging the medium's full interactive potential.

  • 06:13: Real-Time Infrastructure Costs

    Real-time data infrastructure requires significant investment and careful consideration of where incremental value exists, as the total cost of ownership can become prohibitively high without strategic implementation.

  • 08:59: Live Data ROI Examples

    Retail, supply chain, manufacturing, and finance verticals demonstrate clear ROI from live data through waste optimization, inventory management, and real-time decision making that directly impacts bottom-line performance.

  • 13:29: Universal Data Applications

    Live data finds applications across unexpected industries including education, where real-time student behavior analytics help adjust curriculum and instruction methods for improved outcomes.

  • 16:05: Balancing Analysis and Paralysis

    While unlimited data access enables creativity and discovery, organizations must balance exploratory questioning with defined KPIs to avoid analysis paralysis while still allowing for breakthrough insights.

  • 17:33: Marketplace Growth Case Study

    Meta's Marketplace evolved from a small C2C platform to a major driver of daily active users by maintaining data curiosity and quickly adapting to COVID-19 challenges through real-time behavioral insights.

  • 20:23: Empowering Business Users

    Live data platforms enable business users to query their own domain expertise without waiting for IT support, unlocking creativity and allowing for rapid hypothesis testing and discovery.

Episode Summary

  • Unlocking Real-Time Marketing Performance with Live Data Analytics

    Introduction

    Noha Rizk, CMO of Incorta, brings 25+ years of marketing leadership experience from Meta AI and major brands to share practical strategies for leveraging live data in marketing operations. Her insights reveal how forward-thinking marketers can move beyond stale dashboards to create real-time decision-making systems that drive measurable business impact across customer engagement, operational efficiency, and revenue optimization.

  • The Hidden Cost of Delayed Data

    Most organizations remain trapped in legacy data systems despite clear evidence that real-time insights drive better outcomes. Rizk identifies the core challenge: "The modern data stack ultimately is actually quite broken. It's fragmented, it's slow, and it's costly." This fragmentation creates a cascade of problems where marketing teams make decisions based on obsolete information, missing critical opportunities for optimization and customer engagement.
  • The resistance to change stems from both technical debt and human behavior. Marketing teams have invested significant resources in existing infrastructure, creating organizational inertia that prevents adoption of more effective solutions. Additionally, the perceived complexity of migration often overshadows the potential ROI, leaving teams stuck with systems that actively limit their competitive advantage.

  • Breaking the Legacy Mindset

    The parallel to early internet adoption provides crucial context for today's data transformation. Just as companies initially used websites as digital brochures rather than interactive platforms, many organizations today simply layer AI on existing infrastructure without rethinking their fundamental approach. This surface-level adoption fails to capture the transformative potential of live data combined with AI-powered analytics.

  • Strategic Implementation of Live Data Systems

    Success with real-time data requires strategic focus rather than wholesale transformation. Rizk emphasizes the importance of identifying specific areas where live data delivers incremental value: "You have to really think through where in your organization there will be incremental value... where the impact of live data is significantly higher than data refreshes once a day or once a week."

  • High-Impact Use Cases

    Retail operations demonstrate the tangible benefits of live data implementation. One food retailer with 3,000 locations uses real-time analytics to optimize inventory movement between branches, reduce waste through geo-targeted promotions, and maximize revenue even on discounted items. This granular, immediate visibility transforms operational efficiency from reactive to proactive management.
  • Manufacturing and supply chain operations similarly benefit from live data insights. When every cent counts in production costs across multiple facilities, real-time visibility into equipment usage, material flow, and production metrics creates substantial savings opportunities that compound over time.

  • Balancing Analytics Freedom with Strategic Focus

    The democratization of data access presents both opportunities and challenges. While unlimited query capabilities enable creative problem-solving and discovery of unexpected insights, organizations must maintain strategic guardrails to prevent analysis paralysis. The key lies in establishing clear KPIs and North Star metrics while preserving flexibility for exploratory analysis when trends shift.
  • Rizk's experience scaling Facebook Marketplace illustrates this balance perfectly. When COVID-19 disrupted their C2C model, the team's ability to rapidly query user behavior data revealed that customers were seeking alternative exchange methods. This insight led to the introduction of subsidized C2C shipping, transforming a crisis into hockey-stick growth. Without the flexibility to explore beyond predetermined metrics, this pivotal discovery would have been impossible.

  • The Future of Marketing Analytics

    Live data represents more than incremental improvement—it fundamentally changes how marketing teams operate. By eliminating the lag between customer action and business insight, organizations can create truly responsive marketing systems that adapt in real-time to changing conditions. This capability becomes increasingly critical as AI tools require fresh, contextual data to generate meaningful recommendations and automate decision-making effectively.

  • Key Takeaways for Marketing Leaders

    The transition to live data analytics requires careful pla ing but delivers substantial returns when implemented strategically. Start by identifying high-value use cases where real-time insights directly impact revenue or customer experience. Focus migration efforts on these areas first, demonstrating ROI before expanding to other functions. Remember that the goal isn't just faster dashboards—it's enabling creative problem-solving and rapid response to market changes that drive competitive advantage.
  • Marketing leaders who embrace live data capabilities today position their organizations to leverage AI's full potential tomorrow. The question isn't whether to adopt real-time analytics, but how quickly you can identify and act on the opportunities it reveals.
About the speaker

Noha Rizk

Incorta

- Incorta

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