Supermetrics points out that taking this “predictive” approach to planning your marketing is a distinct use case for data analytics. Like descriptive data, predictive analytics looks at current and historical data, but it does so with more scope and at a much greater level of detail. Prescriptive analytics is another form that goes further than predictive analytics by suggesting what a company should do based on customer data predictions. What Matters Here: How Does Predictive Analytics Differ From Descriptive Data in Marketing? If you’re a marketer in the modern era, stop using old-school descriptive data for your customer intelligence.