Data Analytics in a Thriving Digital Economy
Data was around us all the time but today we are beginning to consume data and derive meaning out of it. This meaningful data – information, is enabling us to improve our quality of life in so many ways.
There are a number of enablers that have accelerated our awareness of data. These enablers have lifted the filters on the data around us. As we grow in the digital economy, it is important to understand the data around us and apply it into the context that provides insights in time before it is too late. Gone are the days when you compiled a 2000 page report. By the time you are done consuming the report, figuring out what actions are to be performed, the opportunity would have passed. This is something that would not survive in this digital economy. Organizations that align to insights that help them make actionable decisions will survive.
Consumer behavior has changed significantly over the past couple of years fueled by the digital revolution. Consumers perform extensive research and analysis, especially, when purchasing a high priced item. They use several sources, good and bad, objective and subjective, to arrive at a buying decision. Now, think about what a Seller – Organization, needs to do to sell to this ‘informed’ consumer. It is important that the Seller recognizes this and does not insult the consumer’s intelligence by thinking that they might not have seen the information of the product (or service) online.
Organizations need to invest in analytics and start to zero in on the drivers that will improve the chances of conversion. It is important to understand that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy does not really work in this day and age. Selling is based on region, demographics, price point, competition and groundswell the product has created, among many things. Analysis of this data is going to be very critical, so decisions could be made in time. There are a couple of items to increase the value to an organization:
- Practice an Agile Data Strategy – Have a practical data strategy that can help your organization adapt to the changing consumer needs, business, industry and competitive landscape. Remember, the only constant is ‘change’.
- Meaningful data – Collate data in a meaningful structure; don’t become a data hoarding organization. Build a strategy to deal with data by applying semantics and treating it as Information.
- Apply Agile Methods – Use agile techniques to analyze data, such as, just enough design, envision, explore, time-box, self-organizing teams, collaboration, TDD and daily release.
- Maintain data hygiene – Make sure your data is complete, correct, verifiable, derived correctly and meaningful. You do not want to sink an organization with bad data.
- Visualize it – Create Information Mashups to help understand and provide insights to run your business. If it does not make sense, get rid of it.
- Monetize your data – There is much value you can derive by monetizing the value of the data for the organization, both internally as well as externally. The next product you could sell is your ‘data’!
Single dimensional analytics on a set of measures may provide insights at the point when it was created but that is not enough. The markets frequently change based on consumers changing needs and wants, the competition upping the ante, innovations that make the product better, price reduction and a whole lot more that would require organizations to look at measures in a different dimension.
So, if you are seeing decrease in sales even though you were employing the strategy discounting products to encourage buying behavior, then by applying analytics to the consumers buying history, organizations could apply progressive optimization methods, thereby, increasing the basket size and retaining consumer loyalty.
