The following is a brief introduction to the topic
How many data points do you think you would have captured if you were to analyze your business today? How many data points did you actively collect? How many of them were investigated? What did you do with the data?
In the digital world of today, we are not only overwhelmed by all the platforms, tools, and interactions that generate data, but also, this world has been turned upside down as more and more changes have become a reality. Google and Apple, as we discussed in our article about first-party data, are making waves by deprecating cookies and pixels. This forces businesses to collect data through their methods or other’s adapted methods.
This article will discuss the second step after gathering data: What to do with it once you have it. Power Digital had to adapt, identify, and use other methods of collecting and using data. I’m glad we did. These changes are not only something that you will need to make but also something that every business owner should want to make.
It is important to build a strategy based on the data that you collect. This can give you an edge over your competitors.
What is data strategy, and why does this matter?
A data-driven strategy is the mission or vision that you as an organization have to use data collected first.
Your data strategy will outline your goals, methods, and objectives for achieving your mission. Organization is essential in the age of data overload. A data strategy will help you on your journey.
If you don’t clearly define your data strategy, the collection of business goals and objectives will be a mess. Your data strategy can be defined as a business plan and become an important part of your company.
An effective data strategy will allow you to centralize all your efforts. Adopting too many platforms or technologies for data collection can lead to inaccurate data and wasted money.
A clearly defined data-driven strategy will allow you to:
- Privacy and compliance in relation to personal data
- Find ways to improve efficiency within your organization
- Improve your customer’s experience
- Discover new trends and insights that can be useful for your business or customers.
- More data can help you make better decisions and improve your business.
How to Create a Data Strategy
The key is not to collect as much data as possible but rather to identify what you>need />to collect in order to fulfill your objectives. It is important not to contain as much data as possible but rather to determine what you need to gather in order to achieve your goals.
You or your team can ask these questions:
- What problems am I trying to solve?
- What data am I required to collect?
- What data sources do I have?
- How do I manage my data?
- Am I compliant with the collection and analysis of this data?
- How will I analyze my data?
- Who owns my information — am I the owner, or is it the source??
- Who will be the leader of my data strategy
- How can I share my data with the public?
- What impact does this data have on my internal operations and processes?
Our data strategy is based on four pillars, a result of our agency’s experience.
Marketing Services
How can we give our clients the best possible results by combining data and knowledge in an actionable way?
Operational Efficiencies
What data can we use to make better decisions about our business?
Business Intelligence
How can we “connect” to our clients in a way that makes it easy for them to use the data?
Thought Leadership
What data allows you to be a voice for the industry?
This method is one that I would recommend to anyone who has a successful data-driven strategy. We have found it very useful for creating a roadmap that helps us reach our business objectives. You can find a strong purpose for each of the pillars in your data strategy by drawing them. By clearly defining these questions and posts, you can organize, centralize, and optimize how you use data.
Here is a sample of our one-sheet data strategy:
How do I collect my data
It’s important to describe or illustrate how you collect your data from a technical standpoint. We clearly outline this process in our data strategy and encourage all readers to follow suit:
Avoid these Things (Don’ts of Data Strategy)
- Subscribe to only one analytics platform or CDP. It will only complicate your data strategy and not help you to consolidate your sources.
- Don’t tinker. At first, experimenting is fun, but as you run more small reports and insights, you will lose focus on your main goals.
- Never fudge data. Do not try to create your image by faking the numbers or creating a facade.
- Do not forget to consider the context or business case. Data is often presented in a “loose manner.” Although it is easy to give information, it is more valuable to add content and insights.
- Privacy and compliance are important. It’s time to review privacy laws. It is important to collect data, but managing it illegally could be detrimental to your company.