Data, Data, and Everything Data

In just a few days marketing teams from across the Republic Group will convene for our bi-annual Regional Marketing Conference under the timely and increasingly powerful theme of ‘Data, Data, and Everything Data’. Preparing for the session has required me to carve out some time to reflect on the growing influence of data, particularly its ability to shape both personal and business trends, often at the same time.

From where we stand, the use of data and analytics has become a differentiator for our industry and will continue to be a differentiator for some time. I’d imagine that there are very few industries where this doesn’t apply. Across the board, data has opened opportunities for businesses to save time and money, to grow and to deliver an altogether more satisfying experience for both customers and employees.

People are also becoming more and more open to sharing their data on an individual level, especially when it brings added value to their experience as consumers. But, this growing comfort is tempered by serious and valid concerns over the safety of that data and the transparency of the ways in which it’s being used. We’ve learned that finding the right balance between all of these concerns is key to using data efficiently, effectively and responsibly. Like every organisation out there, we’re still learning and we’ve had our share of successes, and missteps along the way. I’ve condensed our experience into 7 actions that can be helpful to anyone on their own journey into the world of data.

1. Learn from Like-Players (Banks in our case)
   Immerse yourselves in learning opportunities (for us that meant conferences with like-sized banks in the US) to leapfrog based on their experiences. Read voraciously for inspiration and for the pitfalls to avoid.


2. Set Clear and Specific Goals
   The goal is not to use data, but to use data to answer key questions. It’s a good idea to start with what should be the highest priority for any business – your customers.
   Data can help you with the key questions about your customers’ needs that remain unanswered. It can also help with the questions that you might not even think to ask. Whether your goal is to improve your customers’ experience, develop new products to meet their needs or simply communicate with them more effectively – data can give you the insight you need to make the most efficient and effective decisions.
   Beyond that, data can guide your decisions on any number of business objectives from revenue generation, to process optimization to risk mitigation and more. The trick is to identify the most important questions for your business and build from there.


3. Talent
   It is a new modus operandi to move from flat reporting on performance to analysing data to identify opportunities. This calls for new skills and new talent. The research indicates that your resources should live in the business side of your organisation – not on the technology side. Make the people investment.


4. Capture the Data
   Do you have the data you need to answer the questions that are most important to you? If not you will need to have processes in place to start capturing that data.


5. Keep it safe
   All it takes is one data breach to make your customers question their decision to trust you with their data or even their business for that matter. If you’re thinking about capturing and using data, it’s your responsibility to ensure that a breach never happens.
   From encryption, to firewalls, to employing robust systems of user authentication, it’s important to have your security standards and technologies in place before you even begin to capture your data. It’s also important that you continue to revise those standards and technologies as you go along.


6. Make Data Accessible for Analysis
   Who are the users who will work most closely with data? Will they need to perform analysis or will they need access to your dashboards and reports? Your data must be presented in a way that makes sense for your users and is accessible to them. But with so many options where do you start? There are companies that have done the research, like Gartner’s Magic Quadrants for example, that can help fast track your research on which data management solutions are right for you.


7. Apply the Knowledge Learned
   Unless you’re prepared to start making decisions guided by your data, does it really make sense to embark on this journey? After figuring out how you’d like to capture, analyse and apply your data, you may find that operationalisation is your biggest challenge yet.

Where do you start? I would say – start small by adding frameworks of measurement where such frameworks never existed before, defining the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the business goals you say matter most and then getting to work on measuring and reporting consistently.

You also will need senior and executive leadership willing to make decisions based on data, even if the data conflicts with gut instincts. Initially you will not have the deepest insights, but you will have insights. Use this data to start building that habit of making decisions based on data. If recommendations come to you unsupported by data, push back.

Technology implementations take time and resources, and from our experience, building a data-driven mindset throughout your organisation can be the toughest step of all. We’re still working towards this goal – our upcoming conference is just one of our strategies for bringing this mindset to our teams. Getting our heads in the game may be a work in progress but we keep at it because we know that once we get there, it will become a whole lot easier to get our teams excited about the possibilities opened up by the world of data. I’m looking forward to that day!