Turning data insights into action
Emily
Author
Jan 31, 2021
Turning data insights into action
We all love our spreadsheets. But at the end of the day, we want to make a difference in our clients’ businesses. The only way we do that is by turning data insights into action.
We live in an era of big data. At this time, a lot of pundits are talking about the opportunity that exists as a result of the abundance of data out there. A less-discussed, but equally important challenge is how to turn data insights into action.
Sometimes large amounts of data is useful to you, but it doesn’t tell you how you should act. However, when we take data insights and turn them into actionable information, we are on the right track.
Data insight is the foundation of every good digital strategy, but what comes after that? What about turning those insights into actionable results that move the needle for your business?
Over the past few months, we’ve been building tools to help marketers uncover insights from their data and then leverage those insights to make machine-learning-powered automated marketing decisions. As many machine learning companies like ours scale, analysis begins being done at the engineering level. This means that actual marketer involvement is often minimal, often just a set of guidelines and some KPI’s.
A golden nugget of data is just lying there, waiting for someone to pick it up and do something with it. The problem is, most marketers rush by these opportunities and fail to discover the insights hidden inside the numbers. If you’re the one who scooped up the data nugget and turned it into a readable report, you’re well on your way to establishing yourself as a leader within your organization.
It’s safe to say that all data can be used for something, but it’s up to you to uncover what lies beneath the numbers. It might take you some time and effort to get there, but it would be far more exhausting to go about your day without fully exploiting the data available. As they say, ‘Data is a precious resource that gives you insights which in turn give you the knowledge needed in order to succeed’.
When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.
~ W.E.B. Du Bois
Measure the right things:
Measure what matters most and optimize toward your goals. Measuring the right things is key for any business owner looking to get serious about analytics. Some of us may want to know how our site is being used, others may be interested in spending more time and attention on emerging channels, and still, others may simply want to measure growth trends over time.
Every business wants to achieve success, and one of the best ways to achieve it is through data. We want to measure as much data as we can, but there are problems with this approach. You need to be measuring the right things. Not everything will contribute positively to achieving what you want.
Use segmentation to drive action:
Data segmentation is a methodology that takes a big data set and then splits it into smaller groups based on the desired results from these groups.
Segmentation helps you understand your customers better and target the right messages to the right audience. It allows you to create and follow a process where your audience is engaged and ready to be converted into repeat customers.
Use clear visualizations to convey your message
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, what exactly is it that makes an image so powerful? It’s not just the way it looks, but the message it conveys that makes all the difference. Data visuals bring out the best of both words and pictures. They're great memories of the boring data tables in business presentation, simple tools to deliver your message effectively and make you stand out from others in the corporate world.