Businesses seeking to better reach their target audiences need the most accurate and up-to-date consumer data to inform their marketing strategies and meet their business goals. In fact, data-driven insights can literally make the difference between a hit or a miss when it comes to truly understanding audiences. But, as the sheer volume of collected data grows, the variety of collection methods, visualization formats, and management systems needed to organize and analyze this data can prove confusing and challenging. 

As most companies pull data from several internal and external sources — which can be time-consuming and tedious — the need for a simplified organization methodology is incredibly important. 

Enter data integration.

Data integration is the process of combining data originating from different sources into a single location in order to get the most holistic view. Below I outline three types of data integration, explaining how they can give businesses greater insight into consumer behavior and how they can boost productivity for marketing teams.