Sri Lankan marketers urged to ditch ‘gut feel’ for data-driven decisions

February 07 (Citizen.lk News) - Sri Lankan marketers are grappling with a critical inertia in adopting data-driven decision-making, often favoring “gut feel” over statistical analysis despite having the necessary academic background. 

This observation was brought to the fore by Amitha Amarasinghe, Co-Founder and CEO of the Asia Pacific Institute of Digital Marketing, during a high-profile panel discussion in Colombo this week. 

Speaking at the “Brands: Listen, Learn and Lead” event organized by Mark and Comm, Amarasinghe highlighted a cultural paradox where professionals learn advanced data analysis and prediction models in universities but abandon them at the workplace door.

Addressing the audience at the NH Collection, Amarasinghe noted that while annual planning sessions often result in tactical lists, the execution remains heavily reliant on intuition. He argued that this over-dependency is not a skill gap but a mindset issue, describing it as a point of misplaced pride for many seasoned marketers. He called on the younger generation of leadership to break this cycle, urging a culture that balances intuition with hard data rather than writing off “gut feel” entirely.

The event, which featured global heavyweights from Hootsuite and Talkwalker, explored how local brands can transition from reacting to market changes to leading them. Angel Calinisan, Client Growth & Innovation Director for Emerging Markets, likened modern social intelligence to a GPS rather than a rearview mirror. She explained that successful brands now use AI to spot anomalies—whether negative sentiment or emerging trends—in real-time, allowing them to understand the “who” and “where” behind market shifts immediately.

Echoing the need for a cultural shift, Muhammed Gazzaly, Co-Founder of DAT - The AI Company, pointed out that while data exists within Sri Lankan organizations, it remains scattered and underutilized. He emphasized that the barrier is often not the lack of tools but the absence of a cohesive management direction to leverage the vast amounts of information available on social platforms for consumer acquisition and cross-selling.

The discussion also touched on the strategic paralysis that often affects large organizations. Anubhav Khanduja, Strategic Enterprise Account Executive at Talkwalker, advised marketing leaders to adopt a “fail fast” mentality similar to global tech giants. He cautioned against being a “sniper” waiting for the perfect shot, instead encouraging brands to let ideas fly and pivot quickly if objectives are not met.

The panel, moderated by Thanzyl Thajudeen of Mark and Comm, concluded that Sri Lankan brands have a unique opportunity to “leapfrog” competitors by combining global intelligence tools with local cultural insights. However, the consensus remained that without shedding the traditional reliance on intuition, the shift from vanity metrics to genuine business impact would remain elusive.