The importance of original research has never been more obvious. According to Datalily’s State of Data-Driven Content Marketing Report, 91% of B2B SaaS marketers increased their investment in proprietary research over the past year. But in order to get great data, you need the right team to gather and transform research into content that resonates with your audience.

With 50% of B2B SaaS marketing teams conducting market research for content marketing on a monthly basis (also from Datalily’s report), these investments are a big part of the marketing budget, and they need to generate returns for marketing teams. And as HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report reveals, 35% of marketers say using data to inform their marketing efforts has become the most notable change in the industry this past year.

The stakes are high, but so are the rewards. Over 1 in 5 B2B SaaS marketers report that original research generates the highest ROI among all content types. So, are you setting your research up for success or failure?

The gap between gathering data and creating compelling marketing content

There’s often an awkward dance between data teams and creative teams.

The 2024 Marketing Week Career & Salary Survey found that over a third (36.9%) of more than 3,000 marketers surveyed say data and analytics is the biggest skills gap within their team. It’s not that people don’t recognize the importance of data. They just don’t always know how to connect the raw numbers and compelling narratives.

On one side, you have data that is structured and precise. On the other, you have creativity that’s intuitive and sometimes beautifully chaotic. These aren’t opposing forces, and when they work together, they can turn research from basic to innovative.

The most successful teams have already figured this out. According to Datalily’s report, 21% of marketing teams say the most effective way to bridge this gap is to embed data analysts directly within their creative and content teams. Doing so breaks down silos and promotes real collaboration (and not just making do with occasional check-ins). 

Why the “just figure it out” approach doesn’t work

Where many teams go wrong is by assuming that anyone can wear any hat.

“Sarah’s pretty creative; she can probably design that research report, right?” Or “Mike knows Excel, so he can handle the data visualization for our campaign.”

Wrong. So very wrong.

Forcing roles onto people without the right experience or expertise is like asking a world-class pianist to perform surgery just because they have nimble fingers. Though both are skilled professionals, their expertise lies in entirely different domains.

When people are assigned tasks outside their skillset, they’re trying to learn new skills while simultaneously delivering results. The outcome is usually subpar work, mental exhaustion, and a whole lot of time spent fixing avoidable mistakes. It’s a lose-lose situation for both the employee and the final product. Gallup research highlights this, finding that unclear expectations create vulnerability in all types of employees. When team members aren’t working within their strengths, everyone suffers.

Here are a few ways to remedy this:

• Improve communication channels between your data and creative teams. Regular check-ins aren’t enough. Create structured workflows that keep everyone on the same page.
• Bring in specialists through freelancers or agencies when you need expertise you don’t have in-house.
• Invest in cross-training sessions where team members can learn from each other without being expected to become experts overnight.

How data-driven creative teams turn research into revenue-driving content

When creative and data teams work together, the results speak for themselves. Datalily research shows that 88% of B2B marketing teams report positive ROI from research-driven marketing campaigns, with measurable impacts that stretch beyond basic marketing metrics.

To make these research-driven marketing campaigns profitable, you need to get the collaboration right, even if you don’t have an internal team that can analyze data and turn it into a compelling story. Companies that see positive ROI from research campaigns are most likely to work with content marketing agencies that possess research capabilities. By weaving content strategy into the market research process from day one, you can see significantly better outcomes.

The performance metrics tell the story. Since adopting proprietary research insights in their content marketing, teams report seeing:

• Higher conversion rates from content-sourced leads (64%)
• Improved SEO rankings and organic traffic (61%)
• Increased lead quality and volume (59%)
• Higher customer lifetime value from content-sourced customers (50%)

Research from Asana reveals 4 out of 5 marketing professionals believe that collaborating with other departments improves the quality of their work, yet 27% feel disconnected from the rest of their organization. And one-off vendor relationships can leave you hanging when you need support most. Instead, successful research campaigns need constant feedback loops.

Some real-world applications of data-driven creative teams:

• Product marketing teams use research insights to refine messaging and identify feature gaps that resonate with target audiences.
• Sales teams leverage data-driven one-pagers and fact sheets to support conversations with prospects.
• Content teams turn a single study into dozens of pieces like blogs, social content, webinar topics, and email campaigns.

Why B2B buyers trust data-driven stories more than pure marketing messages

DoorDash was looking to engage new merchants (ideally small to mid-sized) who were interested in growing their business and delivering amazing customer service. 

We collaborated with the DoorDash team to create their annual Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report. We needed to collect new data from consumers and review historical data for comparison, and from there we included playful food and beverage illustrations and case studies.

What made the process smooth and effective was how we worked together with DoorDash’s various teams: DoorDash has internal data analysts that we collaborated closely with to review the data and trends, our Datalily designers created custom data visualizations to perfectly complement the story the data was telling, and post-launch we worked with the DoorDash social and content teams to promote the findings. 

This integrated approach delivered impressive results:

• A 24% view-to-download conversion rate
• 6% of readers signing up for DoorDash or using the product
• 25,000+ unique sessions on the landing page

“Datalily helped the DoorDash for Merchants team build engaging content. The launch of these reports and the thoughtful design execution helped us meet and beat our signup goals,” shared Allie Van Duyne, Senior Marketing Manager at DoorDash.

This report was a result of treating data visualization and creative storytelling as equally important parts of the content creation process.

The data visualization challenge

Speaking of data visualization, most marketing teams don’t have dedicated data visualization experts, and in-house teams are stretched thin with multiple requests competing for their attention. Our report shows two-thirds of B2B SaaS marketers currently outsource visual content creation and data analysis, which can work—but only if done thoughtfully.

“Visualizing data in a way that tells a story requires a deep understanding of the context, the audience, and the brand," explains Gabby Pinto, Chief Creative Officer and Cofounder at Datalily. "Most current data analysis tools only offer very basic branding and customization, so designers need to spend time building custom visualizations, which is time-consuming and can be challenging for new designers.”

This is where the collaboration between data and creative teams becomes invaluable. It’s not enough to have beautiful charts; they also need to serve the story you’re trying to tell.

How AI is making everyone’s lives easier

Modern technology is starting to help marketers increase content output while cutting through creative bottlenecks. According to Datalily’s report, 68% of marketers say AI tools are helping them create and publish content faster.

Meanwhile, 57% are already using AI tools like Hex, Tableau Pulse, Coefficient, and others for data analysis. These AI-powered platforms are automating time-consuming tasks like:

• Survey analysis for content ideation: Upload raw survey responses and instantly generate content themes, audience segments, and headline suggestions.
• Multi-audience insight generation from single datasets: Take one research study and automatically produce tailored insights for different stakeholders.
• Predictive trend analysis for strategic planning: Combine your proprietary research with industry data to forecast market shifts and customer behavior changes. 

The future looks even more promising. Tools like Flowerplot from Datalily (coming soon!) are being built specifically for content marketing teams who need to turn data into compelling stories without requiring a PhD in statistics.

Turn your original research into revenue

The advantage of a data-driven creative team is clear: Companies with integrated teams see significantly higher ROI from research campaigns.

The gap between data insights and compelling visual stories is costing teams real conversion opportunities. Marketing teams need both folks with analytical mindsets and those with intuitive creativity to tell compelling, data-driven stories that their intended audience finds helpful.

If you’re struggling to bridge this gap in-house, you can partner with experts who understand both sides of the equation. The most successful campaigns happen when data analysts and creative professionals work together from survey design all the way through final report distribution.

Ready to create data-driven content that actually converts? Let’s work together to make it a reality for your organization.

Want to dive deeper into the data behind these insights? Download Datalily's complete State of Data-Driven Content Marketing Report to see the full research findings.