REPORTING AND ANALYSIS | METAMETRICS JANET SNEDDEN | DIRECTOR


COMPETING ON ANALYTICS WHAT’S STOPPING US?


THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST TO EXPLOIT MARKETING DATA FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE HAVE NEVER BEEN GREATER, BELIEVES JANET SNEDDEN.


At a time when there remains an extraordinary amount of uncertainty in the economy, the outlook for harnessing data to get ahead of the pack and buck the downward trend has never been so positive. Yet many organisations continue to feel constrained in unlocking the value from this important asset.


JANET SNEDDEN IS A DIRECTOR AT METAMETRICS, A NEW STRATEGIC ANALYTICS AGENCY THAT BLENDS BRAND MARKETING, PLANNING, CRM AND INSIGHT


PRACTICE TO HELP OUR CLIENTS SIMPLIFY MARKETING INVESTMENT DECISIONS AND IMPROVE ROI. JANET CAN BE CONTACTED AT JANET.SNEDDEN@ METAMETRICS.CO. UK


Figure 1 – Which of the following statements most accurately describes your organisation’s use of the data it collects?


% respondents 24%


Vast quantities of useful data go untapped


53% 22%


We put nearly all the data that is of real value to good use


community about the advent of ‘big data’, what is preventing companies from fully utilising the data at their disposal? The same EIU survey found that the most prevalent challenge, stated by 45% of senior executives, was that “we have too much data and too few resources to manage them” (see Figure 2). With processing power no longer being a barrier, the skills gap seems to be a regularly cited reason for limiting organisations in enabling data resources to make a difference. At Metametrics, we believe there are several additional factors which undermine the success of harvesting, transforming, nurturing and analysing marketing data to improve business performance: 1. Misunderstanding the difference between reporting and analysis


We probably leverage about half of our valuable data


A recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found that only 22% of organisations feel that they are putting nearly all the data that is of real value to good use, meaning that the majority are not.


With so much talk in the business and IT


Figure 2 – What are your organisation’s biggest challenges in extracting value from data? Select up to two


% respondents


We have too much data and too few resources to manage them We do not have the right skills within the organisation to manage data effectively We cannot get data to the right people within the organisation We don’t have the right analytical skills to know how to use the data effectively We do not trust our data enough to inform critical decisionsUpper management Does not see the value of data


45% 30% 23% 22% 15% l Definable in detail 13%


We don’t have the right data Other


5% 4%


Don’t know 5%


l Stable and predictable l Run regularly


l The past, rear view


2. Poor integration of data and insight sources 3. Cultures that stifle organisational learning 4. Wider business experience of the analytical team


REPORTING VS ANALYSIS Most organisations have already a good grasp of their KPIs, but a relentless focus on measurement has overshadowed the opportunity to go beyond reporting and seek to understand the reasons why results are up or down vs expectations, or even the drivers of sustainable on-target performance. Our summary below dramatises the difference between reporting and analysis that are often confused.


Figure 3 – The differences between reporting and analysis


REPORTING l Provides data l Establishes the ‘what’ l KPIs – the ‘tripwires’ that alert us to a problem or an opportunity


ANALYSIS l Provides insights l Drilling down to understand ‘why’ l Exploration of the problem/ opportunity and


recommendations about what to do


l Typical types of analysis required can be anticipated, but the detailed spec will depend on the business issue


l Intuitive and changeable l Undertaken as the business requires


l Can be used to predict the future


30 | thought leadership


Database Marketing | February 2012


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