5 tips to stop drowning in information and start finding those insights you can act on
Apologies for the delay in the latest update to this blog. I went straight from San Francisco eMetrics Summit, to London eMetrics, giving a WAA web analytics workshop en route and launching an online eMarketing course in the same week. As a result, I’ve returned to the kind of information overload many of you are familiar with and the question behind this post feels pretty relevant to me just now!
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| Nugget image by my_amii on Fickr |
So, how is it that you can get past collecting ever bigger mountains of information and get to the point that you draw significant and actionable nuggets from the information?
1. Spend more time understanding the data than collecting it
This first tip is easier said than done, but is critical to getting past data and towards decisions. Collecting data isn’t enough and it doesn’t analyse itself (even if you have great software, it still doesn’t interpret itself). In order to have a chance of drawing meaningful actions from all the information you have, time and human brain power needs to be committed to working with the data.
Insight from data analysis typically comes from looking at things that have changed over time in the information and drilling down to find out why. It also comes from looking at segments or sub groups within the data. It is rare that you’ll get insight from your information without really diving in deep - a cursory glance doesn’t tell you what is going on below the surface.
Finally, when working with the data, you can’t assume your first theories are right. Insight often comes when you pose a question of the information and the data disproves your theory completely! But you can’t get to this point until more time is spent on understanding information than collecting it.
2. Hunt the nugget
Thanks to the customer insight team at the New York Times for opening my eyes to the power of the nugget! Nuggets are those tasty morsels of information that leave you pleasantly fulfilled, without giving you indigestion. When it comes to analysis and reporting of your business information, it is better to have 5 tasty nuggets than 100 irrelevant facts.
How do you spot your nuggets? Well, for a start they always pass the “So what?” test. They’re relevant, actionable and digestible. We don’t want wobbly jelly nuggets, that can’t cope with being prodded, we want good firm nuggets that stand up to scrutiny.
The fact that customers whose package includes car hire are twice as likely to repeat book and recommend a friend compared to other customers is a great nugget. Sure, it opens other questions (why? what are we doing right? how do we capitalise on this?) but its going to drive action and potential revenue in the process.
3. Think context and ability to act
Nuggets and insights flow most readily when data is viewed through context coloured spectacles. Context is typically threefold:
1) The customer, their behaviour, needs and intents
2) The market, competitors and external factors beyond the control of the business
3) The business, its sphere of influence, challenges, immediate and long term objectives
With these things constantly in mind, you can ask the right questions of the information you have, so that the answers you find are relevant, rather than simply interesting. By also factoring in the organisation’s ability to act on what you find, you start to shape some prioritisation into your analysis.
4. Join up teams and data sources to break down information silos
Whether you have a substantial team of researchers, web analysts and business intelligence people, or have no people whatsoever and a whole mountain of information in shoe boxes - insight comes from joined up thinking.
At London eMetrics last week, I saw examples of more firms that are moving their all their research and analysis people into “customer insight” teams, rather than isolated units - a move which has to help create a joined up view of business information.
But even if you are doing all this your self, a joined up approach can simply mean picking the right data for the job, but in manageable portions. (Successfully tackling a small question, is better than trying to address everything at once and failing). You won’t understand why a visitor did something by looking at your web analytics data, nor will you understand precisely what they did by asking them. The big, valuable picture comes when you pool your data sources and apply appropriate, context rich questions.
5. More tools are not the answer
Whether you’re using Google Analytics or Omniture, SPSS or Excel, ComScore or Hitwise - you’re using a tool to help you get towards the answers in your information. The tool, however marvellous or expensive, is not the answer in itself. (If you don’t believe me, try drilling a hole in the wall without actually plugging the drill in and using it). The answer only comes when you apply point one and spend more time on trying to understand the data, than in simply collecting it.
You’ll get more nuggets and actionable insights from a basic tool like Excel used well, than you will ever get from a top of the range tool like Omniture if it is barely used at all.
So, when your information isn’t producing anything you can work with, don’t be tempted to go buy another piece of software to try and conjure up an instant answer - it won’t happen. Instead invest some time (buy it in if you don’t have the expertise) and dive a little deeper into what you already have.
To conclude - my advice is to not just collect information within your business, but to get stuck in and poke your data with a great big stick. Look for the stuff that really stands up to being prodded and you’ll find those 3 - 5 tasty nuggets of relevant insight that you can actually use to make decisions.
This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am and is filed under Business research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.