Collecting data, in the right way

Becoming truly data driven

The use of data-based insights is the basis for calculated growth in any business. Knowing exactly when, what, where, and how to fully deploy resources to get the greatest return is something that companies like Apple, Google, Spotify and more have fully incorporated. But where do you begin, or what is the next step in becoming truly data driven?

Challenges

We have to understand the challenges that most businesses are facing, Big and Small, New and Old. The largest challenge that we see businesses and teams face is that more time is usually spent on collecting data and preparing than actual data analysis that leads to high value insights. Because of this 99% of all data is never even analysed, not because business doesn’t want to analyze the data, but because usually the resources are just not enough. Hence, the data being collected is mostly only there collecting dust, and not giving you the insights that will make you understand behaviors internally and externally.

The next challenging step is usually that the data that is collected and analysed is used to portray a specific KPI, making the analysis even more shallow and the possibility to find new insights with regards to key insights are halted.

Another common challenge that businesses face is that data is segregated into silos, meaning that the data that is coming from different departments is stored (and used) separately. Not being able to blend the data creates a shallow analysis where important causal links and correlations are missed.

This can be seen with the outsourcing of marketing efforts to an external agency who are responsible for collecting, and reporting data back to you, the client. In that way the raw data is never truly accessible to the business and at the end of the day the data you have to base your decisions on the KPIs that were good enough to make it in the final report.

So what can we do to combat these bottlenecks?

Here are three tips on what you can do as of today, 

What you can do long term,

Create a uniformed mindset about the way data is being collected, analysed and used. As larger efforts in using data will never be truly adapted until the mindset in the organisation has truly adopted the data mindset. There are three core points in succeeding in this,

• Understanding the Why. We humans are extremely passionate in doing things if there is a strong why behind it. Making someone do something just because you or someone else wants it will hardly change a person’s behavior. But understanding the Why to using data will surely make all the difference.
• Create ownership. Letting colleagues influence how and what data that is being used will invite them to change the process and thus giving them ownership of the new way of work. There are many great gains that will be harvested from this except ownership; for example getting the colleagues best insights in how they can conduct their work more efficiently.
• PoC. Show your colleagues that working with data is something that truly works. Show them cases, show them how using data can greatly increase results in sales, marketing, admin, operations, logistics etc. By presenting the potential results that will benefit both the individual colleague and the company as a whole in both short and long term will greatly increase the openness in adopting the data mindset and the data way of work.

Data information enables innovation 

Make sure that data is democratized in the organisation, this means that everyone in any level has access to take data based actions. This will create a uniformity in the company as a whole and increase the chances for better decisions and innovation that can originate both from personal and professional experiences. 

This is best done by distributing an easy to access platform where data is presented in an easy to understand way. As the whole point falls when complicated charts where a bachelor in statistics is needed to decipher it. By doing this you’ve given the means for your colleagues to start being truly data driven.

Let us show you how we work continuously democratizing data, educating within the human- & data mindset, and helping businesses to become human- & data driven.

By William Friman