You don’t have to be a genius to realise that the role played by data & insight in the business world seems to increase on an almost daily basis. Recruiters consistently call out for “data analysts” , “insight managers”, “marketing scientists” and many more. Almost any executive today will tell you that their business increasingly sees data and insight as a cornerstone to their marketing success…and yet…
…when we look at how business is actually being done in the field, is the right insight being used to drive what decisions are made, which actions are taken? In most cases, even in the best companies, the answer is very often “No”, meaning the final outcome ends up based on “gut feel”. That might not be bad in itself (gut feel can still have a role to play), but it really means the big investments in data and insights are not being best used…and that is a problem…
So, why is this happening?
From my time both generating business insights, as well as applying others’ insights to drive my business forward, I identified 4 reasons why this is happening:
- The data & insights teams are working to answer the wrong questions for the business
- The business doesn’t understand what the data actually means for them
- The business is too busy to read, understand & use the insight as it is presented
- Insights are ignored when they don’t fit with current political priorities
The great news is that there are some very simple ways to address and resolve these issues:
- Firstly, insight & data teams need to speak to the marketing leaders directly and ask them “What questions do you have that – when answered – will actually change how you do business?”. All too often huge amounts of internal & external resource focused on getting data that might be interesting to a marketer, but that in fact will never change what they actually do. Therefore, the markteting leaders need to ask themselves “What business decision will I actually make based on this insight?”. Answering this question can really help to focus insights resources on what really matters in terms of the data and insights needed.
- A large proportion of data on a specific topic are of use only if you understand the wider context they are in. Marketers are (increasingly!) busy people and don’t always have a chance to keep up with every market & demographic trend…therefore it is key for teams providing new data & insight to explain clearly to marketing teams exactly why and how it matters. I know there is often some nervousness from those delivering insights about “telling marketers about their business”…but to those in that position I say that you should never worry about “spelling it out”. Busy people don’t feel patronised at getting crisp & clear insight…they thank you for the combination of knowledge & time you’ve just given them! It is even possible to take it one step further, with the insights team even taking the next step…recommending the course of action to the marketing team. As long as it is presented in the right way e.g. “If I were in your position, I would do XYZ…” it can really benefit both sides, speeding up marketing decision making and ensuring insights teams are grounded in business realities.
- Further to the last point…far, far too much insight is still presented in the form of huge reports or massive presentations. Whatever they may say to the contrary…no-one on the marketing side has the time to read and properly absorb them. The key insights on a given topic should be able to be delivered on one page. If you can’t do this – go back and get better at summarizing! A previous insights team of mine found that a weekly email on a given “hot topic” really worked well at enabling the wider organisation to turn the insights into real action, as long as we did it within our own restrictions of one (normal font size) page of email – no scrolling allowed! This mail would include (a) the new fact / data / insight (b) why it mattered (c) what the recommended course of action was in light of this finding. This approach worked. Fantastically well. Do it!
- The final point around the internal political use of data & insight is a more challenging one…. Everyone has seen leaders at some point try to “bend” insights & data to help give credence & support to their own pre-determined business decisions. This is ultimately corrosive to an organisation as it leads to a general lack of trust in data, less rigour in decision-making and a waste of insight & data resources. There is no quick fix to this, but its impact can be lessened through the approach outlined above – with everyone in the organisation understanding the latest insight, why it matters and what to do with it, the scope for insights to be misinterpreted or misused is massively reduced.
By following through with the above approach, the 4 marketing insight pitfalls can be avoided.
This can in turn lead to an organisation that not only understands the latest insights, but also how it can convert them into actions that improve performance and drive successful outcomes.
Chris Bain