Companies have access to more information than ever, but many struggle to create truly accurate profiles of their audience for marketing.

A report from McKinsey & Company suggests that the amount of data businesses have access to continues to increase, but many organizations struggle to leverage this information. Among the myriad benefits of processing customer data is the ability to turn it into effective marketing campaigns that highlight a company’s ability to provide their customers with what they need.

According to the study, 70 percent of respondents said that they were not confident in their company’s ability to leverage customer data effectively. With just 30 percent saying they believed that they can use customer information to make strong decisions, it’s clear that concepts, such as targeting, are being lost despite the wealth of information.

Among the tools marketers have available to them are third-party lists of consumer profile, social media and transactional histories. All of this data can be used to guide marketing campaigns, but many businesses seem to struggle. One such method that can be used is content marketing. Creating original website content that hits on some of the personas developed using this data will help organizations appeal to their target audience.

Brafton recently reported that even companies that understand their data can struggle to create articles, blog posts and other material that appeals to their desired audience. Twenty-eight percent of these companies said developing truly accurate audience profiles was proving difficult.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.